Edward, my best friend, my future boyfriend
by MissJessx3
Summary: Edward and Bella have been friends since they were young. They move into an apartment together for college. This is their journey through their freshman year. Watch them fall in love with each other, one day at a time. ALL HUMAN! BXE!
1. The New Apartment

This was going to be amazing. That was the only thing that was able to go through my mind as I walked around my new apartment. It wasn't really my apartment, seeing as Edward pays the better portion of the rent. Still, I live here, and I just can't wait for the up-and-coming year. Alice, Edward's sister and my best friend, was supposed to come live with us, but Jasper beat us to the chase of asking her. For three years they have been dating, so I guess we couldn't say we didn't see it coming. Jasper is a really nice, sweet southern gentlemen; to say I was happy for Alice would be an understatement.

I'm sure it's obvious that I'm not dating anyone. If I was, I wouldn't have moved into an apartment, in Pittsburgh, with Edward. WE have been friends since middle school; inseparable since then. When I would have sleepovers with Alice, it was a given that Edward was invited too. Our parents had no problems with this, either. They knew we weren't doing things. Lately, as in these past few years, I've started to feel differently about Edward. We've become so close that I couldn't see myself living without him. I think I'm starting to fall for him…but I don't want to get ahead of myself now.

I've only ever had one boyfriend; Mike Newton. He was just a short-term high school fling encouraged by Alice. She figured it was best to get myself our into the world of boyfriends and kisses. It was only when i had dated Mike that I realized he wouldn't ever be like Edward, and that no one would ever be enough for me. Edward had a few girlfriends through the years, but the worst was Lauren. He had dated her for all last year, and each day it got worse and worse for me to handle. He told me, one night, that he was going to sleep with her; she would be his first time, a spot I would have killed to have. I cried all night after he told me. The next day, he found our she had been cheating on him for a few months. He was a wreck, so I invited him to sleep over my house that night. I held onto him as he cried, and helped him get to sleep. We bonded that night; he had let his guard down completely. I felt like I could share anything with him so I was more than egar to move in with him.

"Humph!" I let out a grunt as I was partially tackled from behind.

"How excited are you?" Edward said, his breath tickling my ear.

"Extremely. We should celebrate." I told him. I patted his forearm and walked out of his grip. I went into the kitchen to start making lunch.

"What do you have in mind," He asked smirking, "I know how much you love those clubs."

"You know it. I thought we could grab take-out and wine to relax at our new apartment. Later on, we could invite Alice and Jasper over."

"Sounds good to me." Edward pulled out his phone and started to call Alice. He stepped out of the room to talk to her while I finished making the grilled cheese sandwiches. He came back in as I was placing chips on the plates along with the sandwiches.

"Thank you." He reached over the counter to kiss my cheek. It was just a friendly gesture that he did quite often, but I still blushed wildly. He sat back down and began to eat.

"What time are they coming over?" I asked him as I sat in the stool next to him.

"Nine, but Alice wanted to come over a little earlier to drop something off for you."

My face drained of color.

"You can't let her play Barbie Bella. You know that's the only reason she wants to 'drop something off'. Please!" I begged him, shaking his arm vigorously.

"Oh, you'll be fine. She won't hurt you…well; you'll make it out alive." He grinned crookedly at me. I got up and stomped away.

"Wait," He grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me back, "I'm sorry. I promise if you survive this time, I'll have a special treat for you." He whispered the last part in my ear with a chuckle.

"What kind of treat?" I asked with the color coming back into my cheeks.

"A good one."

"IT better be. I'll go shower before she gets here." I told him as I turned to head down the hall. He tapped my butt lightly, and just winked when I glared at him. When he did things like that, I was crazy enough to believe he might like me back.

My shower took long than I expeted because the warm water felt so good. I even shaved my legs twice to ensure that I didn't miss a part. When I got out, I heard the door open, and Edward greet his sister. I was about to sneak quietly back into my bedroom when I heard Alice shriek.

"You get right back here!"

I trudged back into the room, clad in only a towel.

"Don't kill her Alice, please." Edward said.

"Have faith in me, I'm only here to help." She replied before adding, "I'll be in your room, if you're not there in five minutes it'll only be worse for you."

"You don't seriously think I'm going to sneak her out of the house in just a towel! Bra and underwear maybe…" His smirk and comment caused him a hard slap on his arm from my hand that wasn't holding the towel. I glared at him as Alice walked away.

"I've got to go pick up dinner and your treat. Play nice. I'll be back around five." He smiled, opening the door.

I feared what awaited me back in my room, but I knew I had to get there before she made it more painful than need-be.

"Oh Bella, you're going to love what I picked out for you." She handed me clothes and ushered me to the bathroom. I started putting on the clothes as we caught up.

"How's Jasper?" I asked.

"He's great. You have to come see our new apartment, it's wonderful. We have these neighbors, Emmett and Rosalie, and they are so funny. Emmett is always cracking jokes and Rosalie is really nice once you get to know her. I invited them to come tonight, I hope you don't mind."

"No, that's fine. Tonight will be fun." I looked at myself in the mirror. I had a black, form-fitting silk top on that sunk dangerously low on my chest. I was also wearing dark skinny jeans. I didn't look half bad.

"Once I'm done here, well, let's just say that I don't anticipate these clothes staying on too long tonight." She smiled, picking up her curling iron and getting started on my hair.

"Alice!" I said, "You know we're best friends. You know he doesn't like me like that!"

"Okay, you tell yourself that next time he stares at your ass."

"Oh, cut it, he does not stare at my ass!"

"He sure will when he sees it in those jeans. You are so welcome."

"Yeah, whatever. I don't want to push thinks with him when we just moved in together. I know, also, that I couldn't bear it if he rejected me." I told her, getting a little down on myself.

"The day will come when you both will realize how meant to be you guys are."

I mumbled a "yeah, yeah" as she finished my hair and makeup. It wasn't a long process because Alice is a master at this kind of thing. I was done within twenty more minutes.

"Well, my work here is down. I'll be back around nine with Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie. Bye, I love you." She said as she hugged me and walked to the door.

"I love you, too." I told her, getting off the chair and walking into the living room.

I didn't know how much longer Edward was going to be out, so I wasn't really sure what to do with myself. I settled for flicking through the television stations to try to see if there was anything on to hold my attention. I had settled into some show about doctors when I heard the front door opening.

"I'm home! And I've brought food!" Edward said as he walked in with two bags in his hands, which he set on the counter in the kitchen.

"Smells good." I said as I went over to him and started pulling boxes out of the bags, "What'd you bring me?"

"A little of this, a little of that. I got spaghetti, fettuccini alfredo, and salad with a couple of breadsticks."

I grabbed two plates and set them on the counter. Edward began loading his plate up as I poured out two glasses of red wine. I set the glasses on the small dining table before I started making my plate. Once I had a little bit of each, I joined him at the table.

"This all looks so good." I told him as I began eating.

"I did good, didn't I?" He asked, looking for praise I'd guess.

"Oh yes. I'm very proud of you." I said, reaching over to pat his head. He just rolled his eyes and smiled.

"You look incredible, did I tell you that?" He always knew what to say to make me blush. I knew he was being sincere, too, because he couldn't stop staring at me.

"Thank you. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Alice invited her new neighbors, Emmett and Rosalie, over tonight."

"Alright. What are we going to do tonight?"

"I figured I'd set out some snacks and we could just all sit and talk. Or, there is always that extensive movie collection that you insisted on bringing."

"Sounds like a plan to me." He finished his glass of wine, and went back to the kitchen to refill it. He came back with the bottle, adding more in my glass before his.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" I teased him. He knows I don't have a very high tolerance for alcohol; I was normally limited to one glass a night.

"It's always more fun when you're drunk." He winked at me.

"Haha, I'm sure it is. Are you finished with your plate?" I asked him as I stood up with mine. He handed it to me and followed me as I walked into the kitchen to get the plates washed up.

"Do you want your treat now?"

"Of course." I told him as I set the plates in the sink.

"Hold on one second, go in the living room and I'll bring it to you."

I looked at him skeptically for a second before I did as he asked. I was only sitting there for a couple of minutes before he came in and joined me on the couch. He smiled and handed me a dessert plate with the best looking cheesecake on it.

"You did not." I said, looking at the plate in shock. It seemed like ages since I've had cheesecake.

"I did so." He replied, handing me the plate. I set it down and practically jumped on him.

"Thank you!" I screamed, throwing my arms around his neck. He patted my back a couple of times and chuckled.

"Thank you, it seems you've taught me a new trick. Anytime I want a girl on me I'll just hand them cheesecake."

I rolled my eyes at him and dug in. It tasted so good, it was ridiculous.

"Mmm, this is so yummy." I said, closing my eyes and smacking my lips. I opened my eyes and saw him looking intently at me; his green eyes were vibrant.

"Can I try some, please?" He asked, not tearing his eyes away from mine.

Instead of answering him, I scooped some onto my index finger, and reached it out to him. As he went to suck on it, I moved it away from him and smeared it all over his cheek.

"You did not just do that." Edward looked at me, incredulously.

"I just did that." I told him seriously. He had this mischievous glint in his eyes, and before I knew it, I was launched backwards on the couch, his hands flying all over my sides.

"No, Ed...ward….please….I…m sorry!" I choked out, barely able to breathe. He stopped but his hands still held me in place at my sides. He leaned down and I immediately thought he was going to kiss me. I tensed up in excitement. When I thought our lips were about to touch, he ducked his head down next to my cheek to rub the cheesecake that was on his cheek onto mine.

"Two can play that game, sweetie." He whispered in my ear as he hopped off me chuckling.

I just sat there in awe, until I heard the doorbell ring.

If what just happened was a sign of how the rest of the night was going to go, then it was going to be one hell of a good time.

AN:** this is my first fan fiction that I'm actually putting on this website. Please tell me what you think about it, any critizism is welcome!**

**Thanks!**

**Jess (:**

6


	2. The Meet and Greet

**Disclaimer:**

**me: I don't own twilight**

**Edward: no, but you can own me if you'd like ;)**

"Bella, it's been so long since I've seen you!" Alice said sarcastically, hugging me.

I hugged her back and motioned Jasper and the two other people behind them in. Using my great logically analysis, I figured out that it was Emmett and Rosalie. Emmett was huge, and muscular, with short brown hair. Rosalie looked like she just stepped out of a magazine, and I felt my self confidence drop a tenfold because she was in the room.

"Hi, I'm Bella." I introduced myself to them, holding my hand out to shake theirs.

"Hi, I'm Rosalie, and this one over here is Emmett." She smiled at me, shaking my hand.

Instead of taking my hand, Emmett crushed me into his chest.

"I've heard about you. It's going to be a lot of fun." He said, before letting me go so I could breathe.

"Bella, what's that on your face?" Jasper asked me as he took a seat on the couch next to Alice, putting his arm around her.

"Oh god," I said, wiping the cheesecake off of my cheek. "Its just cheesecake."

"I don't even want to know." Alice said, shaking her head.

I went into the kitchen and got glasses for everyone, and filled them with wine. We had ended up gathering into a circle around the coffee table. I had almost forgotten about Edward when he walked into the room in a new set of clothes; light jeans and a green polo.

"Hey Edward." I said, patting a seat next to me where I had set his glass from earlier.

"Thank you for starting the party without me." He scoffed, jokingly as he kissed the top of my head and sat down.

Alice introduced him to Emmett and Rosalie.

"Do you want anything to eat?" I asked them, trying to be a good host.

"Sure. We'll let the guys find some sports on television while we fix something up." Alice said, leaping up and going into the kitchen.

I pulled out carrots, celery, strawberries, and apples out of the refrigerator for us to cut up.

"How long have you and Emmett been dating?" I asked her as I handed Alice a knife to begin cutting the celery.

"Just about two years now. I met him at my gym; he was always insistng on boxing me. I told him I liked his right hooke, and he said he'd teach me a few of his secrets if I would accompany him to dinner. It just kind of went from there." She smiled as she helped me with the fruits.

"Isn't that cute?" Alice said, smiling.

"Yeah. That's really adorable."

"I love him." Rosalie said with this look on her face that really showed how much she loved him. "How about you, how long have you and Edward been together?"

"Oh, we're not. We're just really good friends. Best friends, actually."

"They should've been dating a long time ago, but of course, men will be men. He's too stupid to see that he's in love with her." Alice replied.

"Sush! Alice has this weird idea that just because I like him that he automatically likes me back. Its ridiculous if you think about it."

"I don't think so. He probably does like you, and he just doesn't want to admit it in case you don't feel the same way. Trust me, I've been there." Rosalie said simpathetically.

"We'll just have to make him see that he likes her." Alice started working on the carrots as I finished the strawberries.

"I'm all for it."

"You're wasting your time." I told them as I walked back into the living room with two plates of fruits on it.

"Fruit? Where's the chips?" Edward asked, looking at me expectantly.

"Oh shut it, you love fruit. Some people do have to watch their figure you know." I said, with my hands on my hips like a four year old.

"I'll watch your figure." He winked at me as the other guys laughed at him.

I rolled my eyes at him and sat down next to him on the couch. Rosalie and Alice walked in with the vegetables. Alice sat down next to Jasper on the floor, and Rosalie sat on Emmett's lap. Emmett was sitting in the chair next to us. The guys were watching some kind of college football game that none of the girls cared to pay attention to. We spent that time talking about random things. The boys were loud, screaming and swearing after almost every play. After an hour of enduring their nonsense, the game was finally over.

"What do you want to do now?" Jasper asked us.

"Well, Edward does have a great collection of movies. I'm sure if he could, he would carry them around with him anywhere he goes." I suggested.

"We could play 'I have never'." Emmett said excitedly, all but bouncing up and down.

"You always want to play that when we go over people's houses." Rosalie sighed next to him.

"I'm in!" Alice said, looking at Jasper as if daring him not to play.

"Me, too." He said. "But someone'll have to explain it to me."

"I'm so in. This is my game." Edward smiled, and then looked at me.

"Alright, why not." I knew there was no way of getting out of this. "I'll go get the shot glasses and Smirnoff."

When I was back with six shot glasses and the alcohol, we were ready to start the game.

"Okay, here's how you play. One person will say something like 'I have never smoked a cigarette'. If you have done that, then you have to take a shot. It's a really simple game." Emmett said as he began filling up the shots and passing them around the table.

"I'll go first." Rosalie said, "I have never peed in public."

Only Emmett took a shot.

"I'm next!" He said, "I have never skipped class to smoke."

Rosalie took a shot, glaring at Emmett.

"It's not my fault I have an addiction!" She said as we all laughed. Emmett refilled his and Rosalie's glasses.

"I'll go." Alice said, "I have never thought inappropriately about a teacher."

Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, and I took a shot.

"Mmm, my old Spanish teacher es muy guapo!" I said, smiling.

"My turn. I have never got a boner thinking about my best friend." Jasper said, looking pointedly at Edward, who had his glass in his hand. He took his shot quickly before filling his glass up again.

"What?" I asked, looking at him shocked.

"You slept over one night and had to take a shower over our house. I went to wake you and Alice up, in her room, to get ready for school, but I wasn't expecting you to be half naked! I was only trying to wake me up but you sure as hell returned the favor." Edward said, as we all laughed.

We continued the game for another half hour, until most of us were almost completely hammered. It was getting late, and Emmett and Rosalie said they had to leave so that they could finish unpacking everything tomorrow without having a huge hang over. I invited the two couples to just stay overnight so that they wouldn't have to drive in their conditions but they turned me down, saying they would be just fine.

"Goodnight, thanks for coming over." I told them as we exchanged hugs.

"Thanks for having us over." Rosalie said as she dragged Emmett out of the appartment.

"It was fun. We'll have to do this again." Jasper said, while Alice chirped slurred "goodbye!" as they followed Rosalie through the door.

I shut the door and walked to my bedroom. The apartment was set up so that there was a bathroom between mine and Edward's room. I changed into a pair of shorts and a cotton tank top before walking into our adjoining bathroom, and then into Edward's room.

He was lounging on his bed, in a pair of plaid pajama pants, reading a book. He looked so intelligent. I walked quietly over to the bed, waiting for him to look up from his book.

"Hello." He looked at me and smiled, patting the bed next to him.

"Hi." I replied, sitting down. "What are you reading?"

"A book." I rolled my eyes at him. "Would you like me to read to you?"

"Sure." I anwsered. He was only a couple of pages into the book, so he flipped to the front and started reading to me. I didn't really pay much attention to what he was saying, I found that watching his facial expressions was much more fun. I think he noticed that I was staring, too, because he would smile randomly during the middle of a sentence. I snuggled against his side, and he put his arm around me automatically. It was comfortable, so much so, that I fell asleep after a few pages.

He probably didn't realize that he had woken me up as he lifted me from his bed, and walked into my bedroom. He lifted the comforter, and tucked me in under it.

"Goodnight." Edward said as he kissed my cheek.

Yes Edward, it was a very good night.

AN**: two chapters in one day? I'm proud of myself, really.**

**Haha. So leave any critizism, comments, or suggestions please (: (:**

**thanks,**

**jess 3**


	3. Hello Tanya

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight.**

**So I decided that I'd better get moving on the drama, can you say hello to Tanya? Leave a review, tell me how the chapter was for you ******

It was morning, too early in the morning in fact. I could tell because my alarm hadn't even gone off, nor had Edward come in my room to scold me for not getting up when my alarm rang. I got out of bed anyway, knowing it was useless to lay there and try to go back to sleep; once I'm up, I'm up. I knew I had to get up for the first day of classes anyway. My first class doesn't start until noon. With a glance at the clock I noticed it was already ten thirty. I walked into the kitchen and inhaled the greatest smelling breakfast I could have ever imagined.

"Good morning." Edward smiled as he set the table with pancakes with syrup, orange juice, and bananas.

"This smells so good." I told him, sitting down quickly so I could get started eating.

"I know how much you like bananas," He winked and joined me at the table, "I thought you'd enjoy a nice breakfast for a change."

"Thank you."

"So, what's your schedule for today?"

"I have my first class at noon; one at one thirty, and then my last class is at three." I listed them off, from the top of my head.

"Is your piano class at one thirty?" He asked, his mouth full of his rather large bite of his pancakes.

"Yes. Let me guess, yours is too." I replied He nodded his head. "Well, I have my art class first, and my creative writing class last. After that, how about we go out to Tyler's Bar and Grille?"

Tyler's Bar and Grille is a place that we ate at once before, and it seemed like a fun enough place. They have karaoke, pool, and of course, alcohol.

"How about another night? I want to work on my music tonight, and I have my first classes today for medical school." Edward replied, chugging down the rest of his orange juice.

"That's fine. What time is your class?"

"Piano is my first class for the day, and then I have medical school after that until seven tonight."

"That sucks!" I told him, taking my plate over to the sink to wash it.

"Yeah, it'll be worth it in the end though. I promise I'll let you come visit me when I'm rolling in the cash." He smiled at me, and I gave a weak one back. Honestly, I didn't want to think about what was going to happen whenever we finished college. I don't think I'd ever want to live with anyone other than him. I'd never want to _be_ with anyone other than him.

"I'm going to take a shower. I'll see you later." I said, walking to the bathroom.

I took a shower and threw on a pair of jeans with a Motion City Soundtrack t-shirt. I scrunched my hair, and put on a little bit of make-up. I didn't want to look like a plain Jane on my first day of college!

When I looked at the clock, it was eleven thirty, so I decided to head off to my art class.

It was warm out; most students I passed were in capris and t-shirts. There was a beautiful setting of flowers and benches in the center of all of the classroom buildings that I had to stop and stare at. It was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. The buildings surrounding this floral center looked intimidating. They were at least four stories high each, and had a variety of students going in and out of the doors.

I walked across the grass, looking for building 3 which held the art classrooms. I had a map in my hand but it still didn't help me out much.

"Lost?" A russet skinned man came up to me with a smile on his face, "I'm Jacob."

"Hi, Bella," I introduced myself, my cheeks turning red as I added, "I just can't find building 3!"

"You mean the one right there?" He pointed to a red bricked building off to our left.

"Thank you." I said, walking briskly off in the direction that his finger had been.

Once I got inside the building, I only had to go up the painted white steps and down a hall before I reached the door. I opened it to find a huge room with canvases placed in three neat rows of five in the center. There were six students there already, and more started ushering in behind me. The teacher, a woman who was about 35 by the looks of it, was standing in front of all of the canvases with a dry erase marker in her hand. She had started writing on the board before she addressed us.

"Go ahead and take a seat at an empty canvas."

I took a seat next to a blonde haired girl in the middle of the first row.

"Do you mind?" She glared at me, clearly disgusted at the fact that I had chosen to sit next to her.

"Not at all. I'm sure your STDs aren't contagious, I'll stay here. Thank you, though, for your concern for stopping the spread of Chlamydia." I replied cheekily as I set my bag down beside me.

"Bitch." She scoffed as the teacher began talking.

She introduced herself as Professor Lynn, and she begun to talk about the different things she wanted this class to fulfill for us. She wanted to teach us how to pour emotion out of our brushes and onto the canvas. To get ready for that, she told us to take the paints in front of us and draw her a painting of anything we like. The only rule was it had to be something that makes us happy.

I dipped my brush in the paint, and sat there, thinking, for a moment. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to paint. I know that music makes me happy, and friends make me happy, and painting makes me happy; but I wasn't sure exactly how to convey everything onto this one sheet of paper. I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, and began painting the first thing I saw.

After an hour, the Professor Lynn told us to stop painting.

"It doesn't matter if you're done or not, I just want to have a group discussion about the things we painted." She said, asking for volunteers to share what they painted.

Some people said their group of friends, one person said nature, but only two other people drew paintings about love. I didn't want to tell her what I painted; painting is a very personal thing for me. We placed our paintings in the closet for storage before class was dismissed a little past one-thirty; meaning I was already late for my next class.

To make matters worse, I had to go to building ten, which by the looks of the map, would take me at least ten minutes to get to.

"Are you in need of assistance again, Bella?" Jacob walked up to me, smiling broadly.

"Do you know a fast way to get to building ten?" I asked.

"Sure. I'll get you there as quick as I can." He promised as he led me to the right.

I got there at one forty-five, but at least I got there. I thanked Jacob for helping me find my way, again, and walked into the classroom. I blushed fiercely as I opened the door. I surveyed the room to see there were only four keyboards set up, two of which were accompanied. Edward was at the one farthest to the left with some thin blonde practically hanging all over him.

"Oh Edward, you're so funny!" She exclaimed, giving him a flirty pat on his shoulder. I recognized her as the snot that sat next to me during art class. I rolled my eyes as I sat at the keyboard next to him.

"Hi Bella." He said awkwardly, seeing as the girl next to him was preventing him from seeing me. She whipped her head around, almost smacking Edward in the face with her ponytail.

"Who's that?" I asked, glaring back at her.

"Tanya. Our families used to go out to dinner together, because our fathers worked together." He replied, smiling. "What a small world!"

"Yeah, just about as small as her brain, if there's even one in that head of hers." I muttered.

Tanya went back to obviously flirting with Edward, while I pulled out a couple of sheets of music and got started playing.

"Please! Be gentle on those keys!" A man said as he walked into the room. I was guessing it was the Professor. I didn't realize I was using more force than necessary on them until he said something. I couldn't help it that Tanya made me just want to punch her face in.

"I'm Professor Brought, and I will be helping you advance your skills in music, mainly the piano. I'm going to hand out a song that I would like everyone to take home and practice; I expect you to be able to play it through perfectly for our next lesson. You have an hour now if you'd like to practice it here." He was tall, and chubby around the middle. He passed out a four-sheet song to each of us before sitting down at his computer.

I practiced for a half hour before getting up to leave.

"Edward, do you want to go grab lunch? I know the most perfect place we can go!" Tanya said, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Sure!" He said, getting up and offering her his arm. She did the most horrendous giggle and accepted it.

"Goodbye Bella!" She said fakely, waving her fingers at me. I mouthed some not-so-nice words at her before I left to go sit on one of the benches in the middle of the buildings.

I pulled out my iPod, and blasted it so that I could drown out all of the sounds. I sat like that for a while before it was time to head to my creative writing class.

When I got there, the teacher told us that she wanted us to write a story about anything we could think of. She said it had to be at least five pages, and it was due this Friday. I started making an outline of ideas for my story before I decided to just pack up and leave; I wasn't having a good day and I certainly wasn't in the mood to write.

I got home at about four-thirty. I took another relaxing shower, and sat down at my keyboard and began playing an assortment of songs I brought with me. I always played music to pass the time. When six rolled around, I started making dinner for Edward and myself. I figured he'd appreciate my steak salads I was making.

"Hey, there." Edward said as he opened the door. He walked over to me and gave me a hug. "You made dinner?"

"Yup. Sit and enjoy!" I told him, smiling.

"Thanks but, I'm going out to eat with Tanya. I'm sorry." He apologized. "I'll make it up to you some other time."

"Yeah, sure." I said, put down. I didn't feel hungry at all anymore. I went into my room and cried quietly into my pillow.

How could he do this to me? I asked him if he wanted to go out to dinner earlier, and he said no, but when Tanya asks he'd drop everything to go out with her. Of course, it's because she's blonde and pretty. She thinks she can just come in and take everything I want. It's not going to happen like that, I'm not going down without a fight. I knew exactly what I had to do. I picked up my phone and dialed the only person who I would trust with this kind of thing.

"Hello?" She picked up on the third ring.

"Alice? I need a plan, you've got to help me."

AN: **mini cliffie! You guys better love me for this; this is my THIRD CHAPTER in a day. **

**Don't get used to it though, I'll probably only be able to up date every couple of days. At least twice a week, though, I promise.**

**Leave a review, I love it when you do ******

6


	4. Who is Jacob!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Edward Cullen. Life is so unfair sometimes.**

**So I put on my music this morning and decided that since this story was getting such great reviews and story alerts and such, I wanted to write another chapter for you guys today. I really appreciate all the feedback I got, thanks guys you make my day! ******** Well…let's see where this chapter goes.**

_I never loved no body fully_

_Always one foot on the ground_

_And i protected my heart truly_

_I got lost, in the sound_

_Suppose I kept on singing love songs, just to break my own fall_

**---Regina Spektor "Fidelity"**

"Hey, come in." I opened the door to see Alice standing there with Rosalie, and a couple of bags in her hand.

"Hi Bella. Hope you don't mind me coming over." Rosalie followed Alice into my apartment.

"No, it's fine. I'm sure Alice has told you why I asked her to come over." I motioned them into my bedroom.

"Mostly. Don't worry though, you're in good hands. When we're done here, he'll be begging you to take him."

"I hope so. But seriously, who's going to pick a plain Jane over Miss America?" I exaggerated as I sat down on my bed.

"You're not plain Jane. You're pretty, trust me on this one. It's not just about the clothes you're going to wear. I can't believe I just said that. It's true though, we need to get a plan of action." Alice said, joining me and Rosalie on my bed.

"Where's he right now?" Rose asked.

"Out to dinner with that slut." I replied, fuming. "After he had lunch with her, too. I made him dinner, because I thought he'd appreciate it, but obviously he'd rather go out with her. Maybe he just thinks he can get into her pants. I'm sure she's easy, freaking whore."

"Chill out. You know Edward isn't like that. If Tanya makes you this jealous, maybe you should try and make him jealous too." Alice said as Rosalie nodded her head.

"Good idea, who's going to be the lucky guy?" Rosalie asked me.

"I don't know. Well, there is the kid, Jacob, who walked me to a couple of my classes today. He seemed nice enough."

"Go for it! Make up a story to get him back to your apartment at a time when Edward will be there. See if he gets jealous; I'm sure he will." Alice encouraged me.

"Sounds like a plan!" We exchanged high-fives before she dove into one of the huge bags she brought.

"I've brought you outfits; one for everyday this week. Put them to good use, please." She went over to my dresser and added enough clothes in it to fill up three drawers.

"We better get going, but call us or drop a text to tell us how the plan is going." Rosalie said, walking out of my bedroom. Alice and I followed her.

"Bye girls, thank you so much." I said, feeling relieved as I hugged them both goodbye.

I went back into my room and blasted my music so that I could drown out everything but my thoughts.

I needed to get Tanya away from Edward, or Edward away from Tanya. He couldn't seriously like her. I've been here for him for so many years, how could he not like me back? I mean, the man popped a boner when he saw me before!

I sat up quickly in my bed. Alice said she left me some clothes….I'm sure that not all of them were exactly PG rated. I went over to my top drawer to find a couple sets of lingerie from Victoria's Secret. I quietly thanked her, even though she wasn't there, and put the midnight blue bra on, the lace boy shorts, and the lace see through tank top that goes over it. I heard the front door opening as I dabbed make-up on.

"Bella?" I heard Edward call me; he seemed to be alone. That was always a good sign.

I walked down the hall to find Edward standing there with his mouth wide open.

"Hey Edward." I said in the sexiest voice I could find. He swallowed hard as I moved closer to him. "I missed you." I put my arms around his neck and hugged him. I felt something hard poke against my stomach.

"It looks like you missed me too." I smiled and chuckled a little. His cheeks got redder, and his mouth was still wide open. I kissed his cheek and turned, walking back to my bedroom. My work here was done.

I woke up the next morning in the same outfit I wore last night; it showed such good results I didn't want to change. I walked into the kitchen and started pouring myself cereal. I heard Edward walk in, but he didn't say anything. I decided to show him just how nice my new underwear is. I bent down to get the milk, staying in that position a little longer than I needed to. I heard him gulp loudly.

"Oh, good morning Edward, I didn't see you there. Would you like a bowl of cereal for breakfast?" I asked him, smiling. He just nodded his head and sat down.

"How was your date with Tanya?" I put his bowl in front of him, and sat down next to him.

"It was good. I had fun." He said, smiling with that look on his face that said he was remembering something about last night.

"Is she good in the sack?" I asked, angered.

"Bella, we didn't go that far. I'm not going to do her on the first date." He said, shocked.

"Sorry. Are you guys going out again?"

"I'm taking her out to lunch, and then I promise I'll bring dinner home for us."

"You are?" I asked, skeptically.

"I told you I'd make it up to you. I might even throw in cheesecake." He winked at me, and I started laughing.

We talked a little as we finished up our breakfasts. Edward got dressed and came back into the living room, told me bye, kissed my head, and left. I took a shower, and got dressed in one of the outfits Alice left for me; it was a black sweater dress with leggings, flats, and a silver heart necklace. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail and added mascara and eyeliner to my face. I walked out of my apartment and went to go find Jacob. I walked around aimlessly; I was at building eight at this point.

"Lost again, Bella?" I heard a voice laugh from behind me.

"Hi Jacob! No, I'm not lost; I was actually looking for you." I told him, noticing how his face had lit up in a huge smile.

"What did you need?" He asked, walking closer to me.

"I wanted to know if you could come over to my apartment later; I have this piece of music that I have to play in my piano class and I wasn't sure if it sounded right or not." I said, making it up on the spot.

"I'd love to. What time do you want me to come over?"

"Does five-thirty work for you?"

"That'd be great." He replied. I gave him my address, and then went back to my apartment.

The first thing I did when I got home was call Alice; I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to do when Jacob came over.

"Hey, what's going on?" She asked when she answered the phone.

"I invited Jake over to listen to something I have to play for class; he's coming over at five-thirty."

"Great! I'm guessing Edward's going to be there?"

"Yeah. He told me he was going to bring dinner home for us after he goes out to lunch with Tanya." I gagged as I said her name. "I figured he could use a little taste of his own medicine."

"Good! You catch on very quickly. Make sure you kiss Jake goodbye, and not just a sweet little peck. You want Edward to wish he was Jacob by the end of this night. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Alright. Well, thank you again for your outfits; they are very helpful. I'm going to go write and then I'll make dinner for me and Jacob. Goodbye!"

I hung up the phone and started to write my short story. I got four pages in before I lost my inspiration to write. That was when I decided to start dinner; it was already quarter after four. I put chicken strips and fries in the oven to cook; I figured we could have a very casual dinner. There was a knock on my door, and I opened it to reveal Jacob standing there in his dark jeans and a navy blue t-shirt.

"Hey Jake." I said, inviting him in.

"You look beautiful." He told me, his white teeth were bright, almost blinding.

"I made chicken strips and fries; I hope you didn't already eat." I placed a plate of fries and a plate of chicken strips on the table. I handed him an empty plate before we sat down.

"Thank you, this smells good. I love chicken." He told me as he began loading up his plate.

"You're welcome. Thanks for coming over, I know it was last minute and all."

"No problem. I really want to know though, did you ask me over just to listen to you play piano?" I wasn't sure how to respond, and he must have seen something in my facial expression because he added, "It's not that I think this is a date or anything, but really, who asks a total stranger to come over and listen to them play piano?"

I laughed, embarrassed. "Well, my best friend, Edward, lives in this apartment with me. There's this girl, Tanya, that I think he likes, but I like him a lot so I want to make him feel as jealous as he makes me."

"Ah, I see. That's Tanya Denali you're talking about, right?"

"I'm not sure. She's blonde, obnoxious, and was hanging all over Edward."

"Yeah, that's Tanya Denali. She's bad news that girl is. My friend, Seth, tried to date her once but all she wanted him for was sex. It got really bad whenever he caught her behind the art building with Paul, my other friend. If you need me to get Edward away from her, I'm sure I can help." He smiled, taking a couple of fries and eating them.

"I'd appreciate that so much. We're going to have to make him really jealous, so I hope you don't mind if things get a little….not so PG." I blushed as I told him this.

"If that means I get to make out with a pretty girl, I'm all for it." He said, winking at me. I laughed as I tried to hide the rising color in my cheeks. I was going to be a tomato by the end of the night.

The door opened up, and Edward walked through, holding three boxes of food.

"I'm home!" He said, oblivious to me and Jacob sitting at the table. He put the food on the counter before saying, "You're going to love me for what I brought home."

"Edward, I'm in here. Sorry, but me and Jacob already ate dinner." I told him.

"Who's Jacob?" He asked as he walked into the room. He glared at Jake before looking at me.

"He's been helping me around campus. I invited him over for dinner; I didn't think you would mind."

"Thanks for sharing your hot roommate with me." He said, winking at me before looking at Edward. He grunted and then went to his room.

"What would you like to do now?" I asked him as I cleared the table.

"You never did give me the tour, but we can just skip that and go to the only place I really want to see; your room." Jacob said, following me down the hall.

I laughed and showed him into my room. We ended up sitting on my bed and talking for an hour. We talked about his family, his school, and his friends. I really got o know him better. He's such a nice guy. He asked me what my biggest dream is, and of course I didn't want to tell him; it's a personal thing for me.

"Just tell me, you know I won't laugh."

"No."

"I'll make you tell me." He grinned wickedly at me, and then began to tickle me; a lot harsher than Edward does.

"Ah! Oh…god…JACOB!" I was screaming and panting because I just couldn't get him to stop.

"What the fuck are you guys doing in here?" Edward came barging through the door to find Jake on top of me, tickling me fiercely.

"Having sex, you can leave your money at the door; this isn't a free show you know!" Jacob said, as we both started busting up laughing.

Edwards face turned blank, and he left the room, slamming the door.

"Well, he seems happy with me. I think it's working." He said, kissing my cheek. "I better go though; I have homework I need to get done." He got off of me and I walked him to the door.

"Thank you for coming over." I said, unsure if I should kiss him or not.

"Anytime, beautiful." He kissed my cheek and then walked out.

I didn't want Edward to be completely mad at me; I just wanted a little revenge, so I decided to go apologize to him. I figured he at least got a little wake up call from Jacob coming over. When I walked into his room, I found him at his keyboard, playing the most breathtaking arrangement of notes I've ever heard.

"That sounds lovely." I told him, as I sat down on the bench next to him.

"Thank you, its something that just sort of came to me when I sat down." He looked at me, his smile not fully reaching his eyes.

"I'm sorry about dinner tonight. Thanks for remembering to pick something up, though." I said. He put his arm around me.

"Of course I remembered, you're not an easy person to forget." He kissed my head before standing up.

"I'm going to bed, goodnight." I stood up too and gave him a hug.

"Sweet dreams, Bella." He replied, kissing my forehead. I walked out of the room as he went over to his guitar to start practicing. Before bed, he used to play the guitar for me; acoustic of course. He really is musically talented.

I changed into my pajamas, and hopped into bed. After listening to a little bit of music I was out like a light.

**AN: please review; tell me what you thought of this chapter. I'm thinking about doing the next one in Edward's point of view cause I've got really good ideas for that. **

**Thanks, **

**Jess ******

7


	5. Tell Me What To Do!

**Chapter five**

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight; twilight owns me**

**The song in the profile is called "Tell Me What To Do" by Metro Station, i found it very fitting to the chapter ;)**

_And honestly I have been begging for anwsers_

_That you and only you can give to me_

_A voice crying loud; i've been crying for days now_

_And as i stop to run i stop to breathe_

_-----Mayday Parade "You be the Anchor that Keeps my Feet on the Ground, and I'll be the Wings that Keeps your Heart in the Clouds"_

**EPOV:**

I was completely shocked to see Bella eating dinner with that guy. I had told her that I was bringing dinner home for her; I'd looked forward to it all day. Of course, I had to take Tanya out for lunch though to get her off my back about spending dinner with Bella. Tanya is a nice girl, but she just isn't want I'm looking for. I had to keep going out with her just so that I could get a rise out of Bella. I was going to see how jealous I could make her, so that maybe if she was really jealous, she might actually confess her feelings for me. But I doubt she likes me, I mean why would she? We're just best friends.

I thought going out to lunch with Tanya would make Bella jealous, but all she did was invite another guy over. This was definitely not part of the plan. I had confided in Jasper and Emmett the night that they were over, and they had set up a plan for me to get Bella. They figured out a plan to get Bella jealous, but I wasn't too sure if it would work. I was getting good results earlier but now I'm stuck at rock bottom.

I wasn't sure exactly what to do so I called Emmett.

"Yo." He said when he picked up the phone.

"Hey, it's Edward. Look, I need your help. Our plan isn't working out; she brought home another guy last night."

"Did they bang?" I rolled my eyes at his question.

"No."

"Good; well, Rosie was going to call everyone up because we're going to the club tonight. Why don't you and Bella come, and see how things go from there?" He asked, and I was actually glad that he had a smart idea for once.

"If I can convince Bella to go; she hates clubs. Thanks for inviting us. I'll text you when we figure out if we're going or not."

"Alright. I'll give you the details then. Later." He said, hanging up the phone. I let out a sigh of relief as I set down the phone and walked to Bella's room.

I walked in to see her lying on her back, her hand above her head. She always looked so cute and peaceful when she slept. I didn't want to wake her up, but instead, stood there ogling for longer than I should have. I shook my head and quietly walked up to her bed.

"Bella," I shook her gently, "Sweetie, get up." She stirred a bit before her eyes opened completely. Her brown doe eyes were breathtaking; especially in the morning.

"What?" She yawned loudly, stretching her arms out before she sat up.

"I talked to Emmett earlier, and he said that they were going to out tonight with Alice and Jasper. He wanted to know if we wanted to go, too."

"Where are we going?" She asked, removing the covers from her body to reveal the shortest pair of shorts I've ever seen and a tight black t-shirt. I was speechless for a moment.

"Uhmm…the club." I replied after a couple of seconds passed.

"You know I don't like the club." She whined, falling back onto the bed. She was sprawled out in front of me; it took all my self control not to lung on her.

"Yes, but I don't think you have much of a choice on this one; I'm sure Alice will be calling you to tell you she'll be over soon."

"Oh, alright." She replied, getting up from the bed. She walked up to me with her hands on her hips. "I agree to do something horrible, that you know I don't want to do, **and** I get up early, but I don't get so much as a 'good morning'?" I could see the teasing in her eyes.

"I sincerely apologize." I engulfed her in a hug; my one arm looped under her knees and the other rested around her back so that she was balled into my chest.

"Good morning, Bella. I'm so glad you're awake." I said, twisting her around.

"Good morning to you, too." She giggled and kissed the part of my chest that was peaking through the neckline of the shirt. I gave her another squeeze before setting her feet on the floor.

"I'll have breakfast ready for you if you can wait ten minutes." I told her.

"Okay. Does the Edward express not travel to the kitchen?" Bella asked, jutting her lip out. It was so adorable, because she lifted her arms up like a little kid asking to get picked up. Her shirt rode up a bit, distracting me for a minute.

"Well….I guess." I faked reluctance as she hopped into my arms again. I was anything but reluctant to get her back into my arms. In fact, I'd probably have stood there for another half hour just to feel the heat radiating off her body; but I knew I had to get her to the kitchen. I walked out of her room and into the kitchen, setting her down at the counter. She thanked me as I got the eggs and bacon out of the refrigerator. It was quiet for a minute before I heard the phone ring. Bella rolled her eyes before answering it. I hand finished cooking by the time she was off of the phone.

"Let me guess, that was Alice." I said as I put her full plate in front of her.

"She'll be over soon to take me shopping. You can't let her take me!" She whined.

"You know I have no control over that. She'll take you out of here by your arms if that's what it comes down to."

"You better appreciate all this stuff I'm going through tonight." She poked my chest as I sat down next to her.

"I appreciate all your troubles very, very much." I grinned, kissing her cheek. She turned red and smiled.

"We haven't gotten to hang out lately, I wouldn't turn any opportunity down." Her words made me feel elated.

"I know what you mean. College has taken away my best friend time with you. It's horrible." Her face fell slightly, making me curious. "Anyways, good luck with Alice today."

"Thanks, I just hope she doesn't pick out anything a stripper would be embarrassed to be seen in."

I laughed.

"Alice has a very unique style. If what she buys you today is anything like those pajamas you wore yesterday, then I don't think guys are going to be able to keep their hands to themselves. You damn near killed me last night." I finished eating, and she took my plate and stacked it on hers.

"Who knew your best friend has such a great ass?" She said jokingly, walking our plates to the sink.

Yeah, who knew?

**BPOV:**

Shopping with Alice today was…something else. We picked out a club-worthy dress (that actually was longer than a napkin). I even let her fix me up after we ate dinner at her place. Rosalie was there, too. She put on a sparkling, tight, silver dress with these huge five inch heels. Alice got a green dress that was skin tight, only reaching mid-thigh. My dress was gold, with a low neckline and glitter. Rosalie even curled my hair as Alice was putting my make-up on; it was much quicker this way.

At eight-thirty, Emmett pulled up in his huge jeep, containing Edward and Jasper, as planned. As we made our way out to the car, the three guys walked over to us to help us in.

"You look absolutely stunning." Edward told me, giving me the up and down. I thanked him as he got into the car, and then pulled me in with him.

"Sorry if it's a tight fit back there." Emmett apologized, starting the car up. There was only room for two people back here, so Alice and I had to sit on Jasper's and Edward's laps.

"No, it's fine." I told him, and looked at Edward; he nodded his head.

"Let's go party, then!" Emmett shouted, and we all cheered along.

**EPOV:**

For the whole half hour it took to get to the club, the only thing I could think of were grandma's exercising and my old high school teacher who had the most disgusting mole on her face; anything to stop the possible tightening my pants would get from Bella sitting on my lap. It was excruciatingly hard every time we hit a bump or a curve and she would be jostled a little, rubbing against me.

The club was packed whenever we got there. It was a good thing Alice is great with bodyguards or else we would have waited in that line for over an hour. We grabbed a booth, and set our stuff down, somehow steering through the enormous crowd.

"Want a drink?" I asked Bella, leaning my head by her ear so she could hear me.

"Just water." She smiled. I headed off to the bar. When I got back, I saw some slime ball all over her, trying to get her to dance with him.

"I can just feel how bad you want me right now; how about we end this little game and take it back to my apartment?" He asked her, the nerve of him!

I cut it on his sad attempt to get my Bella. I mean Bella.

"I hate to rain on your pick up parade, but if she's going home with anyone tonight, it'll be me. Isn't that right, love?" I asked her, smiling at her as I pulled her to my side with my right arm around her.

"Of course," She looked at me and mouthed the words 'thank you' before addressing this jackass in front of me, "You can leave now, Eric, we don't want you here."

He gave me the deepest look of loathing before leaving.

"Thank you so much for saving me." I told her it was no problem and pulled her onto the dance floor.

"You owe me for it; one song." I said as a familiar beat started to play. She didn't object, but instead, pulled me further into the throng of grinding bodies.

_Come on, don't feel this way  
You're only gonna solve this for one day  
You wanna get high  
And then complain  
Girl, I only think of you always and forever  
And forever_

Remember when you just came out  
When everyone knew what you were all about  
You faked your death and that was fun  
But girl, I think it's just begun

Her back was to my front; her body ass was digging into my hips. We grinded to the beat, with my arms at her hips, and hers overtop of them, laced through my fingers._  
You take another line  
And you feel fine this time  
And it goes like this, girl_

Girl, tell me what to do  
Girl, I'm so in love, whoa  
I'm so in love with you, you, you

I think this song was supposed to be the anthem of my life.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?" I whispered in her ear. She just laughed.

"No, I think you forgot to." She teased me.

"Well, you look amazing. No wonder that ass was trying to get with you.

There's no other girl here that looks half as good as you do." I told her sincerely as she blushed.

_  
I'll just stop  
Right around when things get bad  
You said that  
And much has passed  
Come on now, this'll be real fast  
Darling, I know you need the cash  
Yeah, move like that  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, move like that_

The sky will clear  
You say with ease  
You leave real fast to get relieved  
Your heart was locked  
I had the key  
Now this disease won't let us be

I turned her around so she was facing me; she obviously didn't have a problem with this as she weaved her arms around my neck and began to grind on me.

_  
You take another line  
And you feel fine this time  
And it goes like this, girl_

Girl, tell me what to do  
Girl, I'm so in love, whoa  
I'm so in love with you, you, you

The way her hips were moving drove me crazy. If this song wasn't over soon, I couldn't say if she'd still be a virgin by the end of the night. I know it was wrong how I was thinking about Bella because she's my best friend, but I could stop the thoughts from flooding into my mind.

_  
Come on, girl, I need you  
(Just to try to break you)  
Everything about you  
(Makes me wanna leave you)  
Come on, girl, I need you  
(Just to try to break you)  
Everything about you  
(Makes me wanna leave you)_

Girl, tell me what to do  
Girl, I'm so in love, whoa  
I'm so in love with you, you, you

I wanted to tell Bella how I feel about her. I think. It was the only way I could see us getting together.

"Bella, I think we need to go talk." I told her, grabbing her hand and leading her back to the booth.

"What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" She asked me, her face looking pale.

"No! It's nothing you did wrong; I just have to say something. Okay, Uhmm…I'm not sure exactly how I want to say this. Uh, well, you know how they say best friends make the best boyfriends? I want to be your boyfriend. We've been there for each other through everything and I honestly don't think there's any one else out there that's ever going to be what I'm looking for. I could go around and date as many people as I want and I could tell you the outcome of them all before they happen; I'll never end up with any of them because I don't want to be with anyone but you." I told her, hoping I didn't sound like a complete idiot.

"Bella, please say something." I said after a couple of minutes had passed, and she had yet to respond.

"It took you long enough."

**AN: YAY! THEY'RE FINALLY TOGETHER! Haha. I'm hoping that writing will come to me much easier now that they're together. Please, if you read the chapter, leave me a review. I take all criticism…tell me what worked for you and what didn't work. It'll only make the story better.**

**And who knows, I might let you play with Edward for a few hours if you do.**

**Thanks, **

**Jess ******

7


	6. Spreading the News

**Chapter six:**

**Disclaimer: if I owned twilight, I wouldn't be writing this right now.**

**First off, thank you all that review my last chapter; it was the only thing that got me to write this one. I wanted to start putting lyrics of the songs I listen to when I write the chapter or that I just like at the beginning of the chapter because I thought that was cool when other authors did. I'll go back to the other chapters and add lyrics at the beginning too. ******

_Break, all my thoughts hit the floor_

_Like I'm making the score_

_I'm the king of the world I'm a popular man_

_Count my zeros to ten_

_If you're careful I can_

_Don't let anyone wake me I'm dreaming out loud_

_---Dreaming out loud; OneRepublic_

The music continued to blast through the speakers, shaking the floors. I couldn't believe that Edward just confessed that he liked me; it was like something out of a story book. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. I excused myself from the table for a couple of minutes to go tell Alice and Rosalie the news. Edward was fine with it; he had to go to the restroom anyway. I walked through the crowd until I found a familiar face.

"Jacob!" I screamed, tapping his shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey there, Bella." He said, smiling at me. "I see you and Cullen over there are getting quiet friendly. Although I can't exactly say that I dance like that with my best friends."

I laughed along with him.

"Well, it turns out he likes me back. He asked me out…kind of."

"Good to hear." He said, but it sounded like he meant anything but that.

"Thanks for all of your help, it meant a lot to me." I told him, giving him a hug. We chatted for a couple of minutes before I remembered that I had yet to tell Alice and Rosalie.

I found them in some very compromising positions with their better halves.

"Can I detach you from your clothed sex for a couple of minutes?" I asked them loudly, just to have them laugh at me.

"Of course," They kissed their boyfriends before walking with me back to the table, "What's going on?"

"He likes me. He told me he likes me!" I shouted, and they screamed back at me.

_What'd he say?_

_Where'd he say it?_

_Did you guys kiss?_

_Are you dating?_

I was getting too many questions thrown at me for me to think clearly. I gave them a full recap of what happened, only to get smacked in the arm by Rosalie.

"Bitch! This is great!" She exclaimed, making us laugh. I'm sure she was just a _little _bit intoxicated. They left me after a couple more minutes of drunken laughter to go back to their boyfriends. This gave me a nice piece of 'me' time to recuperate from everything that had just taken place.

Everything I wanted had finally happened but it just didn't feel right. I knew that deep down, I love Edward. To the depth of my soul, he's the only man I'll ever love, but I just didn't feel deserving of him. I wasn't good enough to be with him as his other half. I wasn't going to tell him any of this though; maybe this extreme lack of self-esteem would go away soon. I waited at the table, sipping my water, for him to come back from the bathroom. I turned my head, searching from him, when I found him coming back from the bar with two sodas in his hands.

"Miss me?" He asked, sitting down as he handed me a drink.

"Very much." I replied, discarding my water and drinking the coke Edward brought me.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

"Are you asking me back to your apartment? Are you trying to get in my pants?" I teased him.

"I don't want in your pants, I want up your dress. There's a big difference." He said, smiling. I laughed as we got out of the booth and walked to the front door of the club.

"I'll send Alice a text telling her that we're going home." I told him, pulling my phone out of my bra. He just looked at me like I was crazy. "What, you've never seen girls do that?"

He shook his head,_ no_.

"What else do you have in there?" Edward joked, hailing a taxi. "A television? Another apartment?"

"No, just a couple of bucks." I replied.

We stood on the curb for ten minutes with no sign of a taxi stopping for us.

"Men can't hail taxis. Here, I'll get us one." I said, walking closer to the edge of the curb, pulling my dress up a little more to reveal more of my legs. Immediately, two taxis pulled up by us.

"Women and their stupid advantages over men." He muttered, opening the door for me.

The ride back to our apartment didn't seem to take as long as it did on the way to the club. That was mainly because Edward had his arms around me, rubbing up and down my forearm; it was very relaxing. When we got into the apartment, I flung my shoes off, resisting the urge to chuck them out of the window.

"Thank you for tonight; I had a lot of fun." He said, walking into the kitchen and pouring out two glasses of wine. He walked back into the living room, set the glasses down on the table, and patted the cushion next to him for me to sit. I pretended to think about it for a minute before I ran over and jumped on it, my body swaying over so that I was sprawled out on top of him.

"Hello." He smiled, kissing my cheek.

"Hi." It was all I was able to say back coherently. I became too overly aware of how close our faces were; just a centimeter of movement on either of our parts and our lips would be touching. He seemed to notice this at the same time that I did. His eyes considered me for a second, before he leaned down and trapped my lips with his.

His lips were soft, and gentle against mine. We began moving in a way that seemed as though we had done this all the time, instead of it being our first kiss together. His arms tightened at my waist, and I couldn't control my hands as they dug themselves in his mess of reddish brown locks. Somehow, I ended up swinging my right leg around his waist so that I was basically straddling him. He moved his hands to cup my cheeks as his tongue jutted out to move across my bottom lip. I made a noise in the back of my throat that I didn't recognize; I'd never sounded like that before. It seemed to only give Edward more encouragement as his lips left mine to pepper my neck with kisses.

"Oh Bella." He moaned, "You don't know how long I've waited to do that."

I smiled. His cheeks were flushed pink, which is such an adorable color on him, I must say.

He stopped kissing me, and turned me around so that my back was to his chest. He turned the T.V. on, flipping through the channels.

"What do you want to do now?" He asked me.

"I was perfectly content with what we were doing before." I pouted, only to have him kiss me again. We didn't pull apart until our breathing turn rigid.

"I'm sorry, love. I figured we could watch a movie until you fall asleep." He smiled cockily now, "I know how you can't sit through an entire movie without passing out."

"Want to bet on it?"

"Alright. If you fall asleep before this movie is over, I get to pick the next place we go out to."

"And if I win….?" I questioned, not sure if I was going to be able to make it through the whole thing.

"You can have whatever you want."

"Okay, if I win, you can't wear a shirt at any time in this apartment…for a week." I replied, causing him to laugh. I began to blush.

"You're so cute when you blush." He said, not helping my current embarrassment. He sensed my annoyance, and began kissing my cheek repeatedly. I squirmed a bit, but his arms created a vice grip around me; keeping me in place.

The movie started, and I found myself zoning out completely. I was paying attention to anything but the movie, although I'm not to blame for that. Edward kept his hands running through my hair, twisting certain strands, or kissing my head. After a while, he began to hum in my ear. It only took a few minutes of this before I was unable to stop myself from dosing off.

"Love, wake up." I felt him shake me gently from his position underneath me.

"No." I turned my body so that I was lying with my head resting on his chest. I shook it slightly. He just chuckled before putting us both in a sitting position, and then hoisting me up into his arms. He walked me to my room, and tucked me in like he did last night.

"Good night, love." He said, kissing me on the forehead. As he pulled away, I put both my hands on his cheeks, and lifted myself up as much as I could and gave him a proper kiss. When we finally pulled away, he stayed an inch from my face; his green eyes were intense.

"I'll never get used to that." He managed to say, breathless. I gave him another kiss before I said goodnight.

I woke up the next morning to Edward singing in the shower. I laughed to myself as I got out of bed, and changed clothes. When I still heard him singing, I decided to do something. I opened the door to our adjoining bathroom to hear the volume of his singing increase a tenfold.

_What if it was you?_

_You that I needed all along_

_I felt like a fool_

_Now that I'm sure that I was wrong_

**It had to be you**

**It had to be you**

**It had to be you**

**I knew it was you**

I jumped in where he had left off; this was my favorite song, you know. I heard the shower turn off, and saw his hand grab the towel off the rack. After a few seconds, he came out of the shower, the towel wrapped loosely around his waist. His abs were glistening with the water that was dripping from his hair. He looked like a Greek god.

"Good morning." He said, grabbing my shoulders to try to get my attention; I blushed. How was it that in a situation where he clearly should have been embarrassed, I was the one blushing?

"Yes, it is a very good morning." I told him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He returned the hug before pulling my chin up to kiss me. When we pulled away, I offered to make breakfast as an excuse to get myself out of this embarrassing situation.

I whipped up French toast and bacon while Edward was changing. I set the table, with apple juice and all. I began to eat when he came walking down the hall, clad in a blue t-shirt with dark blue jeans. I smiled at him as he kissed me on the head and took a seat next to me.

"What are the plans for today?" He asked as he began eating.

"Just class. Unless there was anything special you'd like to do."

"No, let's just stay in. Last night really drained me."

"Me, too. Does this count as you getting to choose the next thing we do?" I asked him, seeing if I could somehow weasel out of losing the bet.

"Oh no, this doesn't count as a date; we're not even going anywhere. I've got better plans." He smiled, and it was too early for me to care what he meant, or for the curiosity to get to me.

We talked for the rest of breakfast about inconsequential things. I washed our plates when we were done, and then got my shower. I fixed myself up before kissing Edward goodbye (maybe taking a little longer than was necessary), and then heading off to class.

I wasn't worried at all about my art class. We talked about the different pieces of art that changed how we paint today, and the painters that revolutionized art. Really, it was actually pretty boring. I chose not to sit next to Tanya today; I didn't want to say anything about Edward and me unless he was okay with doing so. Class was finally over, after what seemed like an eternity. I couldn't wait to see Edward again now that we are together. As I was walking out of the door, I got a nasty shove in the back, which in turn, knocked my bag and most of its contents onto the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I do that?" She asked insincerely.

"Don't apologize; I'm sure that they haven't diagnosed 'bitch' as a disease yet, so I'm sure you didn't rub off on me." I replied, picking my stuff up. I stuck my foot out as she walked by me, and it was her turn to go penguin sliding a few inches in front of me.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I do that?" I mocked her, walking past her to go find Edward.

I found him moving towards me, probably coming from the apartment to walk me to our next class together.

"Hello, love." He said, putting his arm around me. "How was your class?"

"Oh, just peachy." I replied, sarcastically. He gave me a questioning look, but I didn't say anything. I really wasn't in the mood to talk about Tanya. We walked the rest of the way to piano class in a comfortable silence. When we got there, we were the second ones in; of course, Tanya wouldn't beat us here after I tripped her. I sat down at a keyboard, pulled out my music, and began to practice before the Professor came in. Tanya walked through the door a couple of minutes after us, and immediately went over to where Edward was playing at the keyboard next to me.

"Edward, you play really good." She said, massaging his shoulders. "I'm sure your back must be a little tense; I'll fix that for you." She looked over at me and sneered. I was about to go over there and rip her hair out, but Edward beat me to it…or something like that.

"That's quite alright, you see, I don't think my girlfriend would be pleased about you rubbing my shoulders." He said, looking over at me and giving me a wink. I laughed.

"Your girlfriend? Who's that?" She asked, not believing that it would be me. I stood up and walked right in front of her.

"Hello, I think we've met before, I'm Bella." I stuck my hand out at her.

"Edward, you've got to be joking," She looked at him, but his face was all but joking, "She doesn't deserve you! You shouldn't have to settle when you could have exactly what you need with me!"

"Actually, Tanya, it is I that is undeserving of her in this relationship. I'm not settling at all, in fact, I'm gaining a lot more with her than I would ever have with you. You think way too highly of yourself." I smiled at him, and he smiled back. I was sure she was going to say something else, but the Professor walked in, so our conversation was halted in the meantime.

Hmm…I think it was time for me to check the score out.

Tanya: 2

Bella: 4

This was about to get very interesting.


	7. Lullaby

Chapter seven

**Disclaimer: Stephanie: For Christmas, I'm giving you twilight. You now own twilight**

**Me: Does that mean Edward, too?**

**Steph: yes**

**Me: OMG THANK YOU!**

**Stephanie: I was just kidding…**

**I still don't own twilight.**

_While you were sleeping, I figured out everything_

_I was constructed for you; and you were molded for me_

_Now I feel your name coursing through my veins_

_You shine so bright its insane_

_You put the sun to shame_

_If you need anything, just say the word I mean anything_

_Rest assured if you start to dose then I'll tuck you in_

_Plant my lips where your necklace is closed_

_--The Spill Canvas "Lullaby"_

It had been a little over a month since Edward and I have begun dating. Tanya was still a bitch, and Jacob was a little less than friendly whenever I would talk to him and Edward would be there. I knew it would take some time for him to deal with it, seeing as we were really just friends, but he was taking longer than I expected. With the way things are going, Jacob would have plenty of time to get used to it.

My relationship with Edward was only getting better by the day. Sometimes it seemed like I was dreaming, because it was just becoming too perfect to be my actual life. He treats me like I'm the world. He just has this way of making me feel like the most special person in any room. He really is the most amazing person I've ever met. I think I love him.

Even if from the start I thought I might love him, I knew I could never say that because it would be moving way too fast into things. That's why I still haven't spent the night in his bed. Technically, he couldn't ask me to move in with him because I already live with him. The solution to the problem would be that I just wouldn't be sleeping in his room yet. That would be the stage of "moving in" for us.

Tonight, Edward planned a special surprise for us. If I wasn't aware of how excited he was for tonight, I would complain; I really hate surprises. He got Alice to pick me up a face black dress, which was comfortable and formally casual. It was knee length, and gave me great cleavage. She also straightened my hair for me, curling it at the bottom. After putting on my black dress flats, and spraying perfume, I was ready to go….wherever we were going.

When I got outside our apartment building, I found a half limo waiting for me.

"Are you Miss Bella Swan?" The short driver asked, opening the door for me when I nodded my head.

The inside was extremely fancy. The seats were all black, and the windows were even tinted black, too. There was a separator between the back portion of the limo, and the driver. All of it was nice, considering I've never been in a limousine before.

It took the driver forty-five minutes to get wherever we were headed to. I thanked him as he opened my door for me. We ended up outside a large, beige building, with people pouring into it. I realized that this was the Palace Theater Edward had told me about almost every day for the past two weeks. Apparently, this was where many pianists had become famous. It was always one of his dreams to be able to play here. I followed the crowd into the building, not sure exactly where I was going. When I got inside I couldn't believe this place was actually real.

The ceiling was high up, dome shaped in fact. There were the must beautiful, elegant drawings on it, all in gold. Lights had been strung gracefully around the place, it's only source of light. A balcony was placed on the left corner of the theater, in perfect sight of the stage. I was too busy memorizing every detail of the place to realize that Edward was coming towards me, dressed in a grey dress shirt and slacks.

"Bella." He breathed, trapping my face in his hands. My eyes fluttered closed as he pressed his lips to mine once, twice, and for a third time, dragging it out a little longer than the others. When he pulled away I opened my eyes, only to see his shining down at me.

"Hi." I said quietly, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"Hello." He replied, smiling, "I didn't want to blindfold you because I know with your fantastic grace, you would probably run into every person in the room, so I'm just going to ask you not to look when we get to the top of the stairs." He took my hand and led me up a set of stairs to our left. When we reached the top, I shut my eyes. I protested when his hand laced out of mine, and I could no longer feel the heat radiating off of his body.

"You can open your eyes now."

I did as he told me, and I couldn't believe what I saw. We were up on the balcony, that much I could see from the huge opening to my right, which had a ledge for leisurely viewing. In front of me, though, was the main attraction. Edward was standing by a round table. The table was clothed in a blood red silk, which was very pleasing to the eye. There were a few roses in a vase at the center of the table, with a tall white candle on each side of it. A delicious smelling meal of grilled steak and salad was on two plates in front of the dining chairs, calling to me.

"Would you care to join me?" Edward asked, pulling the chair out as a gesture for me to sit in it.

"Of course." I smiled, remembering to breathe. I guess everything was making me a little weak in the knees, because I didn't make it to the table before I started to fall. He got over to me in impeccable speed before I hit the ground. Chuckling, he set me upright, and guided me to my seat.

"Thank you. This is absolutely breathtaking." I told him.

"I could say the same." He replied, his eyes boring into mine. I blushed before we began eating.

"How did you do all of this?" I asked, curiously.

"I pulled a few strings. It's all about who you know. I figured you deserved something special tonight. We've made it through our first month of college! This, dinner, is only part of the surprise. The other half comes a little later." He grinned.

"I don't know how I got so lucky. You really are amazing."

"I'm only trying to compensate for all the years we missed out together. I tried, to my fullest ability to try to show you just how much I care about you. There's nothing out there that can fully convey how much you mean to me. You really are the most wonderful person I've ever met." I was almost crying at this, but I didn't want him to get the wrong impression; I never liked crying in front of people.

"Bella, I…" He was about to say something, but at the moment, a tall man in a tuxedo walked in.

"Mr. Cullen, we need you." He said in a raspy voice. Edward looked at his watch, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Bella, I'll be back soon. How about you watch the show until I return?" He walked over to me, kissing me swiftly before following the man. I finished eating before I went to the ledge to listen to the pianists play.

The pianist playing at the moment was a man. His fingers were moving rapidly across the keys, yet the melody was a perfect blend of notes. He finished up to a standing ovation, to which he smiled and bowed before walking off of the stage. The same man that had come up previously to get Edward was now in front of a microphone on the stage.

"Next up, we have a promising young talent here to play his original piece. Let me now introduce you to Mr. Edward Cullen." People clapped, and I was completely speechless. So this was the second part of the surprise. He sure had me shocked.

He took a seat on the bench in front of the piano, and looked at me. I smiled at him before he turned his head, focusing on the music he was about to play. As his fingers slid across the keys, I recognized it as the music he was playing the one night I walked in on him. I found my eyes shutting, getting lost in the music. It was a sweet sound, the kind that almost made you cry because it was just perfect. I let his notes take me to a beautiful place. In my mind, it was just me and him, sprawled out on the grass of a charming little meadow. The flowers around us made an aroma of love. As the final notes rang out, I found myself clapping the hardest out of everyone in the theater. Before leaving the stage, he went over to the microphone to speak as the applause died down.

"Thank you. I would just like to say that I wrote this piece, and dedicate it, to the most important thing in my life. This lullaby is written for Bella Swan, and I'd like to thank her, because without her influence, I would never have written that." He looked up at me and winked before leaving the stage.

I couldn't believe it. How could someone write something so beautiful, so heart achingly emotional for me? I guess I never realized how much he really cared. I wish I could give him something like that. Something that could show him how much he really means to me, but I didn't think I would be able to do that. He really deserved so much better than me.

"Bella?" I heard Edward call to me. I turned around to see him standing a couple of feet in front of me. I basically ran at him, and jumped into his arms. He spun me around a few times before setting me back on my feet.

"That was, I can't even…it was really…" I gave up trying to explain how much I really loved the lullaby. I attacked his lips fiercely to try to show him through actions how much it meant to me that he did all of this. After a few minutes, he pulled away slightly.

"I take it you liked it?" He chuckled as I nodded my head. "Good, because I really wanted this to go well. How about we take this back to our apartment? It's getting late."

He took my hand, and we walked down to the lobby of the theater. The limo I rode in earlier this evening was waiting outside the doors for us. He led me to it, opening my door for me. He was always such a gentleman. I spent the ride back to our apartment playing with his hands, which were sitting in my lap. He had pulled me to his side, so that he could kiss my cheeks or my forehead randomly. If you looked up sweet in the dictionary, a picture of this moment would be right next to it.

"Thank you for going along with tonight so well. It means a lot to me that you didn't put up trouble when I wouldn't tell you what the plans were." Edward said to me as we walked into our apartment.

"No problem, I had a lot of fun tonight. It was really sweet of you to plan all of that." I told him. He grabbed both of my hands and dragged me over to the couch.

"I tried." He smiled nervously. "I just wanted to plan something for you that might be able to give you an idea about exactly how much you mean to me, other than words. What I tried to say tonight was these three words. Bella, I love you."

I don't think anyone could have been happier than I was at this moment. You could have won the lottery for all I cared, but you still wouldn't have been as happy as I was. I was overwhelmed by this whole night. The dinner, the lullaby, and now I heard him finally say the three words I waited to hear my whole life. I felt elated, I felt wanted. Most importantly, I felt _loved_.

I was so shocked at what he said, that I hadn't spoken since he told me that he loved me. I saw his face drop, and his eyes were void of emotion.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I shouldn't have said that, it's just I really do love you. I know it's too early to…"

"Shh. Give me a minute." I put my finger to his lips, and only took it away when he nodded his head solemnly. "This night was….beyond perfect. You went absolutely out of your way to plan something so romantic….and now you tell me you love me. I've never felt like this before. You make me feel so…incredible. It's really hard to describe exactly how much you affect me. Don't think for one minute that I don't love you. I love you more than you could ever imagine."

His eyes lit up as he slammed me back on the couch. His lips were everywhere he could reach. It was a circuit of kisses peppered from my temple, down my jaw, from my neck to my collar bone, and back up again. Between kisses he would whisper "I love you", which sent a tingle up my spine. I had my hand on his head, laced through his hair.

"Bella."

"What?"

"I love you."

I'd never get tired of hearing that.

5

**AN: aweee!!!!! they love eachother!**

**sorry this chapter isn't coming as fast as some of the others have been; I wanted to make this absolutely perfect.**

**leave a review! i'd love to hear what you thought of it!**


	8. New Roommate

**Chapter 8 (finally!)**

**Disclaimer:**

**Stephanie: So jess, what's your New Year's resolution?**

**Me: To own twilight**

**Stephanie: Too bad, you don't and never will! Hahahaha!**

**AN: I'm sooo sorry for the long wait for the story. In truth, I was not going to continue on with it because I don't feel like I've given the characters any personality at all. So I'm going to finish this story up in about three chapters so that I can write a different one; start over in a sense. Thank you all for being so patient with me.**

_I may be sad but I'm not weak_

_This situation is breaking your puppy eyes never lie_

_Your tears fall from inside_

_Until some day, I'll be waiting for an answer_

_And I guess that yesterday's not good enough for you_

_You know that I hate this song_

_I hate this song, because it was written for you_

_--I Hate This Song; Secondhand Serenade _

BPOV:

I woke up smiling; it didn't matter that it was the day of midterms, or that I didn't get half as much sleep as I would have liked. Nothing could have ruined this morning, because I woke up cuddled next to the greatest gift God ever gave me. Edward was snoring away, which was a surprise to me. Normally, he's up at six in the morning for reasons unknown to me. I decided I better do this right; who knows when I'll get another chance to wake him up?

"Edward." I whispered, brushing my lips across his temple. He groaned. I said his name again, moving my lips to brush his ear.

"I'm not getting up." He mumbled, moving his body to the other side.

"You have to! We have midterms today." He shot out of the bed.

"THAT'S TODAY! I'm not ready, I can't do this!" He started to pace the room before I rolled my eyes and walked over to him.

"Calm down, you'll do fine." I told him, kissing him. After I calmed him down, I went to get a shower and change before breakfast.

I made a quick breakfast of Reese's Puffs before going to my art class. I wasn't in that much of a rush to leave without a good luck kiss from Edward, which turned into a good luck five minute make out by the door.

When I got there, it was the same set up as normal (canvases scattered around the room), but with those separators in between each so that no one else could copy, I'd guess. I sat down at a canvas closet to the front of the room. I took a couple of deep breaths before the Professor began to speak. While I listened to her, I looked around the room at all the other students, who looked just as pale as I figured I did. These were midterms! They counted for fifty percent of our grade! The only good luck sign I noticed was that Tanya wasn't here; good, she'd probably have to drop out of the class. I just call it karma.

It turns out that we had to paint anything that came to mind, incorporating what we learned so far. She already had these two extremely weird figures drawn on every canvas, and we had to draw around that. As lame as it sounds, I drew an ocean with all these sea creatures in it. Of course, we had to paint it too, so I used the cool scheme of colors (green, blue and purple).

I was finished earlier than most people. I'm not sure that's such a good thing, though. I turned my painting in, and headed out to relax on the bench that I always sit on. I was pulling out my IPod when I suddenly couldn't see anymore. There were two huge hands covering my eyes.

"Bells." The person whispered in my ear. I knew immediately who it was.

"Jacob, if you do not remove your hands from my eyes in the next three seconds I'm going to deck you in the face." I threatened; his hands were instantly gone.

"Feisty aren't we?" He teased, sitting down next to me. "How was your midterm?"

"Horrible. I think I failed life."

He rolled his eyes.

"That's not even possible. I'm sure you did fine."

"You didn't see my painting. I had freaking PURPLE DOLPHINS on it!" I huffed, putting my head in my hands.

"Chill, didn't you hear? Purple dolphins are the shit." Jake told me, putting his arm around me.

"Shut up." I told him, laughing. I could never be mad at him.

"I've got to go, but good luck on your next midterm!"

"Thanks." I hugged him before he left. I took a deep breath before heading to creative writing.

I shouldn't have expected anything less than this; she wanted us to write a figurative language poem. That in itself is bad enough; I'm bad at structured poems. The icing on the cake? It has to be two pages long! I spent about thirty minutes brainstorming, and writing down pairs of rhyming words. I was the last one out of the room, with only a page and a half for my poem. I even wrote as big as I could!

Feeling dejected, I went back to the apartment to drown myself in ice cream. It seemed like forever before I finally got there. I was about to open the door when I heard sobbing coming from inside.

"Shh, it's okay Tanya. It's okay." I heard Edward's voice say. I whipped open the door. This really was a great day to piss me off.

"Oh Eddie!" She flung her arms around him. I just stood in the doorway with most incredulous expression on my face. He patted her back before noticing me standing there. I was about to walk back out the way I came when got up off of the couch.

"You stay there." I pointed at him, glaring as best as I could. "I don't care to know why she's here; I don't want to hear any excuses. I'm going to take a deep breath, walk out of this door, and when I walk back in, we're going to forget that the last minute has ever happened." So I did exactly that. When I walked back in, Edward was still standing up by the couch, and Tanya was still crying her little blue eyes out.

"Bella, please, just let me talk to you for a minute." He grabbed my wrist, and led me into the kitchen.

"Alright, ready, get set, go." I told him, looking at my watch.

"There was a fire in her apartment. She lost her roommate, and most of the possessions that she had in there. She didn't know where else to go. I couldn't just turn her away. She's like family to me; I've known her since I was little! Please, for me, just be nice to her. I love you, you know." He smiled, warily.

I thought about that for a second. A fire in her apartment meant she lost her home, for some while at least. Edward said he couldn't turn her away because she had no where else to…oh my god. That's when it hit me; he was basically asking my permission for her to move in with us.

"What….the…fuck?" It was the only thing that came to mind for me to say.

"Please, I know we have your bedroom that she could sleep in until she finds another apartment! I can't just let her sleep out on some lonely street corner!"

"I'm sure she's used to street corners by now." I mumbled, but he didn't seem to catch that.

"It's not permanent, it's just until she can find another place to live. I already told her she could have your old bedroom, so I just want you to man it up and behave." His voice took on a stern tone. I was livid.

So he expects me to come back from the crappiest day I've had in a long time, to find that his ex-girlfriend is now going to live with us.

"Why give her my old bedroom? I'm sure with how traumatized she is, it would be much better if she slept with you in your bed. You guys can cuddle up at night and share words about how much you love each other." I snapped sarcastically.

"Bella, that is no way to talk about Tanya. You know, you make her sound much worse than she really is. She's over me, I can assure you that. I'm equally over her. Show some sympathy for the poor girl. I can't believe you're giving me such a hard time about this. It's absurd." He was really mad at me. Well, this was just fabulous.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I haven't been having the best day and I wasn't expecting this to happen. Sure, let her stay, that's fine." I told him, as much as I didn't want to. He would get his way in the end, eventually.

"It's alright. You have nothing to worry about, you know I love you." He grinned, _my_ crooked smile before kissing me. I drug it out longer than necessary, just in case Tanya was watching us. We went back into the living room; he sat next to Tanya, and I sat on the floor by the coffee table. I would let her live with us, but I sure as hell wasn't going anywhere near her.

"Tanya, it'd really be a pleasure to have you come live with us." Edward told her, putting his arm around her while she continued to cry.

"You really mean it." She looked up at him and sniffled.

"Of course. Bella's okay with it, right?" He looked at me as if daring me to say no.

"Yeah, sure." I mumbled.

"Thank you so much Eddie!" She said, burying her head in his chest and squeezing his waist.

"You too, Bella! I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I promise I'll make it up to you." She smiled at me. It took all my self control not to roll my eyes.

If she really wanted to make it up to me, how about she never talks to Edward again and moves to Alaska? I know that would never happen but….a girl can wish can't she?

"That's alright." I said. "I'm going to take my piano midterm. See ya." I said to both of them, not bothering to give Edward a kiss. This whole day was making me madder and madder.

"Wait! How about I take my two favorite girls out for dinner tonight for celebrating the end of midterms?" I stopped dead in my tracks. He did not just categorize me and Tanya together. Bastard.

"You guys can go; I'm going to see Alice after this. I'll be eating there." With that, I walked out.

I should have known that Edward would miss out on our midterm for piano; he could easily dazzle the professor, telling him he had to comfort his friend in need. It was probably stupid that I would leave Tanya alone with him during dinner, but that didn't matter at this point. I seriously needed someone to talk to, and I'm sure Alice would do the trick.

After playing a rather complex piece by Yiruma (**AN: sound familiar to anyone?), **and completely nailing it, I made my way to Alice's apartment.

"I'm going to shoot myself." Was the first thing I said to her as she opened the door.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" She asked me, leading me to the couch.

"That slut." I took a deep breath. "Her apartment caught fire or something stupid so she has no where to go. Of course, that means that she goes straight to her _little Eddie-poo_, who doesn't mind at all if she moves in with us until she's back on her feet. Does he consult me about it first? No. He knows that Bella will do anything he says. He loves her, I swear. It's disgusting how he was sticking up for her. Then, he thinks its really a good idea to play the 'Tanya's my bestest friend,_ and I basically want to do her_, but don't worry, cause I love you!' card. I was about to punch someone in the face. He wanted to take his 'two favorite girls' out to dinner, but I refuse to be near her any more than I have to. So I came here." I finished my rant.

"Oh Bella, that's horrible! I'm so sorry! My brother can be such an ass sometimes. Just try to stay calm about it, and hope that she gets out of there soon." She rubbed her arm along my back as I started to cry. This was the most frustrating day of my life.

"Honey, dinner's ready." I heard Jasper call from the kitchen.

"You're staying for dinner." She said. I just smiled and went to the table.

We sat there and ate, catching up. I'd never felt as comfortable in any place as I do at their apartment. Jasper and Alice were so cute, the way they'd talk to each other, and just the looks I would catch them giving; it was amazing. I was tempted to start humming "here comes the bride" but I decided not to. When nine-thirty rolled around, I figured it was best that I got home.

I walked in, and didn't even bother to glare at Edward for sitting on the couch, watching a movie with Tanya. That wasn't the part I should've glared at him for. It was the fact that he was rubbing her feet almost as if it was a normal gesture. I'm not sure if it's just me, but if I was taking advantage of another couple's spare bedroom, rent free, I would definitely not be getting cozy with the girl's boyfriend. But hey, that's just me. I'm sure in Tanya's world that as long as the pants are on, it's acceptable.

I took a bubble bath, in a foolish attempt to relieve all the stress I was going through. When I was done, I dried myself off, and slipped on a pair of pjs. I was awe-struck when I walked out of the bathroom. I saw Edward, picking Tanya up off of the couch (bridal style) and carry her into my bedroom. He didn't notice me standing there, so whenever he got into my room, I tiptoed to the open door to peek in. He had tucked her into bed, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Sweet dreams." He told her.

I wasn't going to start crying again, I told myself in a vain attempt to stop the tears from falling. I moved as fast as I could to our bedroom, and started playing the piano. Hopefully, he wouldn't notice that I hadn't been playing longer than a couple of seconds before he opened the door.

He put his arms around me from behind, and kissed my neck. I refrained from wiping the spot where he kissed off with disinfectant; those lips had just been on Tanya's forehead. Gross.

"It's late, love, let's get to bed." He picked me up and tossed me on the bed before getting under the covers.

"Uhmm… I'm going to go get a drink of water." I lied; glad it was dark enough that he couldn't see my cheeks flaming up.

"Hurry back."

I practically jumped off of the bed before walking to the closet. I had stored and extra blanket here, just in case that we would get cold in the wintertime. I grabbed it off of the top shelf, and made my way to the couch. There was no way I was sleeping with Edward tonight. No way in hell.

Only one thought came to mind as I crammed myself on the couch:

Jacob was completely wrong; I totally failed life.

**AN: well, that's chapter eight for you. I hoped you liked it!**

**PLEASE! Leave a review with your suggestions, or comments. What you liked about the chapter, what you think should happen in the next….please. it's extremely helpful. It's the only thing that makes me post these chapters.**

7


	9. This is What a Heart Break is

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: I still haven't gotten the rights to twilight. I'm still trying to own Edward.**

**AN: You're reviews made my life. Seriously, to everyone that reviewed…I want to hug you. I started this chapter like four hours after chapter 8 because of how awesome you guys are. I LOVE YOU! Haha. Theres some swearing in here but...you guys don't care right?**

_Holding on, the days drag on_

_Stupid girl, I should've known, I should've known_

_That I'm not your princess; this ain't a fairytale_

_I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet_

_Lead her up the stairwell_

_This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town_

_I was a dreamer before you went and let me down_

_Now it's too late for you and your white horse to come around_

_--White Horse; Taylor Swift_

I know I don't usually put up two songs, but this one kind of goes for the chapter…ish.

_She's just a friend, you see, you always agree_

_You know I lie, but you still trust me_

_And you believed with so much hope_

_But I'm the one who let you go_

_Now that we're done, I'm so sorry_

_Why did I lie, I'm so sorry_

_I know I hurt you, I know I hurt you_

_--Now That We're Done; Metro Station_

EPOV:

I felt horrible about what happened to Tanya. I couldn't imagine what she was going through, so I figured it was best to just be there for her when she needed me. I owed her on this one. I can't count how many times she's been there for me. I'm sure Bella doesn't mind about it anyway….she was more shocked I think that mad. She knows how much I love her. I was exhausted, and fell asleep before she came back from getting her drink. I knew she'd join me soon anyway.

The door opened sometime later; I couldn't tell if it had been hours or merely minutes since I had fallen asleep.

"Edward, are you awake?" I felt a hand on my shoulder, gently shake me.

"What?" I asked my voice thick from sleep.

"I had a nightmare; can I sleep with you tonight?" I thought that was probably the stupidest question I'd ever heard. Why would Bella have to ask to sleep with me?

"Of course, love." I said, pulling back the covers. I kissed her cheek when she snuggled into my chest. She smelt different then normal….more like vanilla than strawberries. Before I could consider this, though, I was out like a light.

BPOV:

_Ouch! _My muscles ached from the awkward position they held last night. I groaned as I stretched myself out, trying to ease the pain. How was it that when Edward fucks up,_ I'm_ the one on the couch? I think maybe I was over reacting a little bit. I wasn't in the mood at all to fight with him, so I made him my best chocolate chip waffles. I put the waffles and a glass of orange juice on a tray, heading up to serve him breakfast in bed.

I creaked open the door to our bedroom, trying my best not to wake him up. I sure got an eyeful, though.

There she was, that stupid bitch was CUDDLED up against my boyfriend. I dropped the plate; glass colliding with the floor, juice splashed everywhere. Tanya woke up, sneering at me and wiggling her fingers in a mock hello. I heard Edward groan before burying his head into the pillow.

"Shh, go back to sleep honey." She soothed him, running her fingers through his hair.

"Fuck you." I'm sure it sounded childish, and in any other circumstance, I wouldn't have said it at all. It wasn't even close to adequate enough to express my extreme hatred for her. I loathed her, I abhorred her. That didn't seem to matter though; she still got what she wanted. My everything.

"Oh trust me, he would." She said, and then stuck her tongue out at me.

"Grow up." I said, picking up the plate that had Edward's waffles on it, and whipped it at the wall right above her head. I didn't want to cause any injury to her. Okay, scream bullshit, because that is. The fact of the matter is I would have beat her for hours if I could, but I knew if I caused any damage to her I'd be sending myself to hell. After my outburst, I'm sure Edward had woken up. I didn't stay around to confirm it. I slammed the door on my way out, almost pulling it off of its hinges.

I wrote him a note before I left, trying to write down everything going on in my head. Then, I grabbed my purse, and got out of there as soon as I could.

EPOV:

**BANG!** I groaned, too tired to even look at what could have caused the noise. I crushed my head back into the pillow to try to get a few more hours of sleep.

"Shh, go back to sleep honey." Bella ran her fingers through my hair, but they were a lot colder than usual. I smiled anyway; I'd love her even if she didn't have fingers. God, I'm whipped. She started talking to someone or something… I'm not quite sure exactly. I was more focused on trying to go back to sleep than what was going on around me.

**CHINK!** I heard glass shatter almost right above my head. Well…I guess someone really wants me up. I opened my eyes to see Tanya nestled into my chest, and glass scattered across the bed.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, releasing my arms off of her. This was already awkward enough. Why the hell was she in my bed? Where's Bella?

"Oh Edward, it was horrible! I had a really scary dream last night, so I asked if I could sleep here with you because Bella wasn't here. I didn't think she would mind, but obviously she did. She started calling me names and throwing things at me. I thought we could finally be friends but she hates me!" She started crying, and I patted her on the back. I couldn't believe it. I never thought Bella would get that crazy, and that jealous. After calming Tanya down for a few minutes, I went into the kitchen to see if Bella was there.

She wasn't. But what I did find was an envelope with my name written hastily on it. I opened it up to find a letter from Bella:

_Edward,_

_I'm done. I'm completely done. I've put up with a lot, and I know it's only been a day but you really are stupid enough not to see what Tanya is trying to do to us, aren't you? She is a lying, home wrecker! She wants what I have and stoops to the lowest levels to get it. SHE'S TEARING US APART! But you obviously don't care as much about our relationship as I do to try to eliminate the wall she was putting between us. I'm not fighting with you anymore. I'm not going to try to make you feel things for me that you apparently feel for Tanya. I can't do this anymore, and I'm glad to get out while I can. I love you Edward. There were days when the only thing I had to look forward to was seeing you, hugging you, kissing you. I loved being close to you. I thought we had something untouchable; I thought my hold on you was permanent and unbreakable. Now I guess I'm the stupid one to ever believe that._

_You told me I was beautiful; you told me that you loved me. You should've kept your damn mouth shut instead of lying to me. Do you know how much this physically hurts to see you with her? I saw you tuck her in last night, I saw you hold her this morning. I can't even describe what it's like to see that. It was like someone was trying to stab my heart over and over again, but somehow it kept beating. How could you do this to me? Even if you didn't love me anymore, or love me to begin with, I thought we were friends. I should've known you were just a selfish bastard to begin with._

_I'll get my stuff from you somehow._

_Go jump off a bridge._

_You disgust me,_

_Bella_

It only took three minutes for my world to completely end.

My love, my life, my meaning….everything was over.

I think the problem is the feud between Bella and Tanya. Bella has some sort of grudge over her. If she just had learned to get along with her, and put the past aside, this wouldn't have become a problem. I love her with all of my heart, she knows that. I thought she knew that.

I read the letter over half a dozen times before it hit me that she wasn't coming back.

"Eddie, what's got you down?" Tanya asked, putting her arms around my shoulders and giving me a hug from behind. I was too awestruck to speak. She rested her chin on my shoulder and began to read the letter that I had firmly in my hands.

"This is great! Now we can finally be together!" She exclaimed, kissing my neck excitedly.

"Woah, hold up." I said, turning around and pushing her away from me. She looked like someone had slapped her. "Is this what you wanted? How didn't I see this before? Tanya, let me explain this to you…there isn't going to be an 'us'. There will never be an 'us'. I love Bella. I. Love. Bella. I let you live with us because your practically family to me. I thought you knew where the line was between us. I'm going out for now. When I get home, I want you and your shit gone."

"But Eddie!"

"No. Leave." I said, controlling myself as best as I could. I put on clothes as fast as I could before getting into my car. I had to get Bella back, I had to.

BPOV:

After stomping out of the apartment, I got in my car and drove as fast as I could. It only took me two minutes before I had to pull over to get my composure. I was balling my eyes out, like a baby that lost his favorite toy. Only this was much worse.

I had lost every reason I had to live.

My place to live? Gone. The memories I held closest to my heart? Gone. My boyfriend? Gone. The reason why I breathe? Gone.

I lost everything, and only Tanya was to blame for that.

I had to stop thinking like that. Maybe it was really my fault. He obviously likes Tanya because she's prettier than I am, and probably thinner than me, too. So what if I put on make-up, dressed nicer, and started working out at a gym? What else could I do to make him love me again? I thought about it longer and realized I was just using her as an excuse, as a safeguard. I used her to shoulder the blame which was all mine to own up to.

I still couldn't see completely as I drove back. The only place I wanted to go was somewhere I could feel safe.

The only reason I really went to Rosalie's apartment was the fact that it was the door closer to me than Alice's. Don't get me wrong, Rosalie is a really nice girl but I've known Alice years longer. I pounded on the door though, disregarding the time. I had to wait a few minutes before Emmett opened the door.

"Bella!" He swung me up into his arms. "What's the matter?"

"I need some place to stay. Please, can I come in?" I asked, breaking up. He lead me into the house, before calling Rose down.

"Oh my god, Bella! What happened?" She asked, sitting down next to me. I told her every detail I could remember, pausing every once in a while to gather myself.

"I knew it. I knew she was a good for nothing bitch." Rose said, shaking her head.

"Want me to go beat him up? He could use a good blow to the head." Emmett suggested, making me smile a little bit.

"Thanks for the offer, but really, I just need to calm down."

"How about I get Alice over here?" Rose proposed, pulling out her cell phone. She didn't even have to wait for my answer, knowing I would have said yes.

It took less than fifteen seconds from the time she hung up the phone for Alice to get here. It really was convenient that she lived right next to them.

"Bella!" She ran at me, engulfing me in as big of a hug as her little body could muster. "He's such an ass. My brother is such an ass. I'm so sorry! If I ever see that whore around here, she's going to regret that nose job she got!"

"I love you." I said, hugging her back.

We drank coffee, as they comforted me. This was all I really wanted at the moment; caffeine and friends. I wanted to escape the real world for a couple of days. I didn't want to have to face Edward, or Tanya. Most importantly, I didn't want to face the failure I had become.

Now, I just wanted to crawl into a hole and forget every mistake I've made.

This was as best as it gets to dying in my books.

AN: **_THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT!!!!!! I'm thinking about changing the rating to M, and adding a lemon later on in the story...possibly. When you leave a review, please tell me your opinion about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ I love you guys; seriously, this chapter is for all the people that sent me reviews from chapter 8. I really hoped you guys liked this chapter. I think my favorite part about writing it was the letter from Bella to Edward. It's like every time I read a fan fiction where Edward fucks up; I always want to say those things to him. Along with a couple of love hits. **

**This story is BxE all the way, so don't worry! Haha. **

**Well, this is where I say goodbye, and please REVIEW! (: When you review, I get more chapters out…. ******** ;) **


	10. It's Not Over

**Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: I'm claiming that I do not have claims on the rights to the twilight series.**

**AN: thank you guys SOOO much for your reviews! I can't believe that we're at ten chapters already! I'm not sure exactly how much longer it's going to be, but we'll figure it out sometime! I'm glowing, I'm sooo happy! I had almost everyone that reviewed say that they don't mind me changing it to M. only one said that they did. To respect that person, though, when the time comes for the "M" rated scene, I'll put a huge row of EBEBEBEBE or something like that and say that this is where the M rating starts so that they can skip down to the second row of EBEBEBE, essentially skipping the scene. Thanks!**

_It's a shame that it had to be this way_

_It's not enough to say I'm sorry, it's not enough to say I'm sorry_

_Maybe I'm to blame? Or maybe we're the same_

_Either way I can't breathe, either way I can't breathe_

_All I had to say was goodbye_

_It's better off this way, its better off this way_

_I'm alive, but I'm losing all my drive_

_Cause everything we've been through, and everything about you_

_Seems to be a lie, a guiltless twisted lie_

_That made me learn to hate you_

_Or hate myself for letting it pass bye_

_**-Goodbye; Secondhand Serenade**_

**_I'm falling apart, i'm falling apart_**

**_Don't tell me this won't last forever_**

**_You're breaking my heart, your breaking my heart_**

**_Don't tell me that we will never be together_**

**_We could be over and over we could be together_**

**_It's not over, it's not over, it's never over_**

**_unless you let it break you_**

**_ --It's Not Over; Secondhand Serenade_**

_I thought with a month I would call_

_Together would find us an opening_

_And moonlight would shine like the stars_

_And that I would stumble across the key_

_Or break down the door to your heart_

_Forever could see us not you and me_

_And you'd help me out of the dark_

_And I'd give my heart as the offering (an offering)_

_**-Three Cheers for Five Years; Mayday Parade**_

BPOV:

I thought that after a few weeks this would get easier. I didn't realize that every time I stepped out of Rose's apartment, I would be hit with a reminder of him so hard that it felt as if I lost my ability to breathe. Sometimes I wonder why I don't just give up trying to get over him, but that's the thing. I'm not trying to get over him, I just can't see him again….not yet. I haven't forgiven him for what he's done for Tanya, and I haven't forgiven myself for not being enough for him.

I have come to terms with Tanya, in a sense. I realize that yes; she's to blame for at least half of this mess. If she hadn't moved in, none of this would have started, and I probably would be in Edward's arms at the moment. I think that maybe Edward really cares about her, though. They have to have some special bond; something that Tanya and Alice don't have. I know when I was younger; I would hang out with both Alice and Edward ridiculous amounts of time. Mostly, Alice would talk about how she couldn't stand Tanya, and hated how her parents forced them to be nice to her. Edward thought of her as their triplet. It repulsed me. If he really thinks they're like triplets then what he's doing is called INCEST!

I hadn't gone to class in two weeks. The only class I really went to was creative writing, where I don't have to see either Tanya or Edward. I still get my assignments from piano and art, though. You could probably guess that I have more than enough time on my hands. Well, sometimes.

My life consisted of three things; running, drinking coffee, and reading. Every once in a while, I'll have an apple or a banana but other than that, I don't really eat much. I tried to eat dinner with Alice one night….it didn't work out too well. Most of it ended up in the toilet. I'm not too upset about it; who wants to get fat anyway? It's not like I'm starving myself…in a way. I get minimal calories, enough to live, but just barely.

I hit the biggest low of my whole life. I would try to sleep sometimes, but it never lasted more than a few hours; that was when I'd wake up screaming, or crying. Neither of which I felt like doing on a regular basis.

Edward tried to talk to me on numerous occasions. He called Rose's phone a couple dozen times, left me letters (which I had successfully burned in the fireplace), emailed me (which instantly went to 'spam'), and tried to get Alice to get me to talk to him. Nothing would work on his part. I didn't want to talk to him again until I was ready.

It was a good thing that I didn't get enough sleep or enough food, because then I wouldn't have the energy to go beat Tanya up. This isn't just for the heart break she caused me, or the fact that she basically stole Edward from me. She did something horrible. She lied to us. I was taking a run around the campus a few mornings ago when I saw a person I never expected to see again; her roommate, Lauren! Her ex-roommate I mean. Of course, my first conclusion was; shit! I'm seeing things. But then, she walked over to me and started talking!

"I heard that you took in Tanya. That was so nice of you." She said in her ditzy voice.

"You're alive?" I said, rather blatantly.

"Duh…" She said, as if it were the most obvious thing. "I wasn't there when the fire happened. When I got home, there were like fifty firefighters there and one was like 'Hey do you live here?' and I was like 'Uh yeah.' And he was like 'Your apartment has some minor fire damage to it, so you'll need to find a new place for the time being'. So I was all trying to stay with him, but no, he has a girlfriend. I told him I didn't mind but…. Apparently she would."

I was so mad; I didn't even roll my eyes at her sluttish attempt to take someone else's man. Instead of telling her what Tanya had told us, I just gave her a pathetic chuckle and continued my run. Ever since that day, I'd never been able to think about anything but how horrible Tanya is, and how upset I am with myself for letting her into my apartment.

Today, I decided it was time to stop and see Jake. He was always such a warm, friendly person to be around. Alice and Rosalie thought it was best for me to get out of the house and be around different people again, anyway. I took a shower, and cleaned myself up a bit; I wasn't used to leaving the house except to run so I looked really shitty the majority of the time. I found his apartment number in the student directory, and practically ran there.

"Bells! Long time no talk!" He exclaimed, opening the door and wrapping me in a huge hug.

"Hi Jake!" I said, instantly happier now that I was with him. It would be hard for anyone to be upset when they're with him.

"What's going on? Come on in." He ushered me into his cozy little apartment. "Did you eat breakfast yet?"

"Nope. Are you planning on making anything?"

"For you, I'll make anything." He smiled, and I just laughed.

"I don't usually eat very much so you can make whatever you want to eat, and I'll just have some orange juice and toast or something."

"No, when you're in my house, you have to eat well. I'm making eggs and hash browns." He said, pulling things out of the refrigerator.

"Okay mom." I said, as a rather tall man with russet skin came into the room.

"Did I hear you're making breakfast?!" He said, sitting down next to me.

"Just ignore him. That's my friend, Embry." Jake said to me from his position at the stove.

"Hi, I'm Bella." I said, shaking his hand.

"You look really tired, did little Jake over here keep you up late last night?" Embry teased, causing me to blush horribly.

"I just got here a few minutes ago, actually." I told him.

"Damn, one of these days Jake, one of these days." He said, causing Jacob to turn around and nail him with an egg.

I couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably.

"Yes Embry, one of these days I'm going to move out of here and good luck to you because I doubt you'll find a roommate as understanding as I am." Jacob replied, handing him a paper towel to clean off the mess.

We ate our breakfast in a constant flow of conversation for the most part. I was particularly enjoying listening to Jacob and Embry bicker on about the littlest things; I could tell that they were best friends. It was moments like these I was glad to have Jacob in my life, because he took the heartache out of me. I owed him my life for it.

"What do you have planned to do today?" Jacob asked me as I helped him clear the table.

"Nothing of major importance. I figured I would just hang out here…if you don't mind." I asked him.

"I'd love you to stay here Bella, but I have class in an hour. Can we hang out some other time?" He asked, and I couldn't say no.

"Sure. Thank you so much for breakfast." I said hugging him. He kissed my forehead before pulling away. He stared intently in my eyes, almost trying to see past them.

"Is something wrong? Are you okay?" He asked me, concerned.

"It's been a long couple of weeks. I'll be fine, I just really needed to see you again." I told him, before he hugged me again.

"You can always call me if you need me."

"I'll hold you to that." I smiled and started to wonder around the campus.

I wasn't really aware of where I was going. It wasn't until I reached the door to my old apartment that I realized that I might have to face Edward today. I didn't want to talk to him, but I knew I had to get my things back from him; I shouldn't have waited so long to do so. I took the spare key we had hidden under the welcome mat, and opened the door.

The place looked completely clean. I don't think there was a speck of dust or dirt anywhere. If you think about it, that's extremely odd to find in a single college bachelor's place. I heard the piano playing from the bedroom; its melody was all wrong, though. It sounded distorted…there were breaks in the flow of the notes, which few were even right to begin with. It was horrible, but for some reason, I was drawn to it. I kept walking down the hall, and cracked the bedroom door open a bit, just to see what was there.

Edward was hunched over the piano, his fingers moving clumsily along the keys. For a second, I thought he was drunk, I really did. But then, his fingers stopped moving, and he turned around to look at me.

His eyes were dead. They used to shine. They used to light up a room. Now, I couldn't believe they ever used to do any of those things. They were puffy and red from crying, the tears falling effortlessly down his cheeks.

I couldn't breathe. I really couldn't breathe.

EPOV:

I couldn't breathe. I really couldn't breathe. I thought my heart had stopped beating the moment my eyes locked with hers. Those wonderful brown eyes I thought I'd never see again. She was pale, though, paler than normal. There were dark bags under her eyes, telling me of sleepless nights. She looked weak and fragile, more so than before. The bones of her cheeks were extremely noticeable under her tight skin. What happened to her? Where'd the woman I love go? Everything about her has changed.

"I'm sorry…I really shouldn't be in here. I was just getting my things and…" She started to say, but I was barely paying attention. I couldn't believe that after all this time she was actually here, without me having to beg her to talk to me.

"Bella." I said, desperately. She started to cry, and the only thing I could do was open my arms to her. This was the only way I knew how to comfort her.

She walked over to the piano bench and sat next to me. I held her as she cried into my chest, soaking my shirt. I tried to soothe her by rubbing my arm up and down her back, whispering reassurances in her ear. This could have gone on for days and I wouldn't have realized it; I was just enjoying the time she was allowing me to hold her, for who knows when she would leave again?

"We need to talk." I told her after a while. She looked up and me, nodding her head.

"I think I've said everything I needed to say in the letter….you can start." Bella told me. I took a minute to gather my thoughts.

"I'm an idiot. A complete ass. You can look up every horrible word in the book, and I'm sure that it would describe me to the T. I couldn't see past what Tanya was doing. I can't believe I was stupid enough to believe that she just needed a friend. If I would have known, Bella, I swear to you I would have never let her stay with us. I didn't want anything to come between us when we finally were happy. I got everything I wanted, and now it's gone. I've been a mess without you. I can't think straight, or be around people… I can't even write music anymore; you've seen that. I don't even know what its like to fully breathe anymore, because I feel entirely empty. I kicked Tanya out, and I never want to talk to her or about her ever again. I just want it to be you and me because I still love you. With everything that I am, I love you." I told her, trying to get my point across.

"You still want me back?" She asked me, shaking a bit.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I want you back! I should be begging and pleading with _you_ to take _me_ back! What would make you think that I wouldn't want you?"

"She was everything I couldn't be. You should be with her; you guys belong together." It tore me apart to think that she really believed that.

"You're right. You could never be like Tanya. And I'm glad. I don't want a fake, trashy, moronic girlfriend. I. Want. You." I brushed away her tears with my thumbs.

"Okay."

"Really?"

"Yes." And that was all it took for me to sweep her up in my arms and spin her around.

"I love you."

"You are my life." I told her simply, pressing my lips to hers. It set my heart on fire, to finally be kissing her again after all this time.

I got my Bella back!

**AN: well, there you have it. THEY'RE BACK TOGETHER! ******** I've wanted to get them back together ever since the start of the eighth chapter…hhahaha they weren't even apart at that time! I didn't want them to have "make-up sex" because I think that's a horrid way for them to lose their virginities. You know, it totally ruins the whole sex thing.**

**Reviews make my life. I'd like to get about 15 for this chapter before I'll start the next. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to have them do….I've got a thought but I'd like you as the reader to give me your opinions. I was thinking about having thanksgiving be the next chapter….it's all up to you guys. Please leave your opinions in the reviews! (: **

**I LOVE YOU GUYS! ;-) **


	11. Meet the Parents

**Chapter 11**

**Disclaimer: Edward- You own me ;)**

**Me- I DO?!**

**Edward- Psssht. No. Stephanie Meyer does…but we can fuck if you want. :D**

**AN: I never do this, but I'd love to give special thanks to Lovelyshakirababe and Absolutely Cullen for their reviews. I love you guys (: With the help of their reviews, I was able to actually make this chapter. I went back and read the story and realized how different it is from chapter 1-7 to chapter 8-10, the mood is completely off to me. I'm going to try to restore the story ******

**Oh, and I decided….Tanya really pissed many people off. You guys deserve a completely stress free chapter. (: enjoy! **

_Always knew, I'd find someone_

_Just never dreamt it'd be like this_

'_Cause you surpassed all that I hoped for and ever will_

_And I'm trying so hard with all my heart and mind_

_To make your life as good as you've made mine_

_--The Best Thing; Relient K_

BPOV:

I wanted to scream, and cry, and just freak out. I was back to where I wanted to be, where I was just a couple of weeks ago. I had Edward back, and I was whole again.

I'd started going back to class again, which brought my grades up by shocking amounts. Edward's music had reached an unimaginable level of excellence. That's what the professor claimed, at least. He was getting so many calls to play at different events and clubs. It was really going to his head, I think, but he was happy so I was happy.

I had the most amazing sleep now. Edward proved to be a very nice pillow. I felt safe with him. I'm not sure how I survived without him. He made me breakfast every morning, and we went out to eat most nights. I never went a day without eating. I had color back in my cheeks, and he had light back in his eyes. I think we've made each other perfect.

"Good morning, love." His velvety voice whispered, and I could feel the words on his lips, which were at my ear. I shivered. He had his arms around me, cuddling me from behind. I turned around in his arms and started kissing pretty much and place I could reach.

"Good morning, Edward." I kissed up his neck, along his jaw, until I finally reached the place I had been looking for; his lips.

He smiled before giving me a peck on the lips. I wasn't having that. I locked my arms around his neck, and pulled his head down into another kiss. It really became intense; every kiss we had started off innocent, but ended up leaving us both breathless. His hand was drawing circles on my stomach from underneath my shirt, and I gasped at the feel of his cold fingertips. He took advantage of this, and thrust his tongue inside my mouth. It was only when I began to try and take off his shirt did he stop what he was doing, and grab both of my wrists. He pulled away, giving me one more quick kiss.

"Not now, love." He smiled as I groaned. He was always so picky about our physical boundaries. "We're leaving for the airport in an hour…we don't have time. Go get your shower and I'll make you breakfast." He patted my butt as I got off the bed.

"You should join me, we'll save water." I suggested, knowing it was useless.

"Get going." He said, kissing me before leaving the room.

I was nervous like you wouldn't believe for today. We were flying out to Forks to visit his parents for Thanksgiving. Alice and Jasper had flown out a few days earlier, so that they could have more time to spend with their parents. I was excited that they invited Emmett and Rosalie to dinner, too; that would take at least some of the attention off of Edward and me. I've known his parents ever since I was born, but I was still worried that they wouldn't approve of us dating. Maybe they thought Edward should be with someone…that's just not me. He told his parents that he was bringing his new girlfriend over, but he didn't tell them that it was me. That boy likes surprises way too much.

I showered for the longest time before I knew I had to get ready. I put on skinny jeans and a blue button up shirt with a silver cami underneath; I really wanted to impress his parents. I had to look my best for when he introduced me to them as his girlfriend. I put a little bit of make-up on and scrunched my hair before heading out to the kitchen.

"Just when I thought it wasn't possible for you to get any more beautiful, you do." He kissed my forehead before handing me a plate with an omelet on it.

"One of these days I'm going to slap you in the face." I said, embarrassed at his compliment.

"Why is that, love? Am I not allowed to compliment my incredibly gorgeous girlfriend?"

"You just like to make me blush." I replied, digging into my breakfast.

"You're right. You're blush is adorable." He said, running the back of his hand along my cheek.

"If you keep this up, we'll never make our flight." I scolded him, in the hopes that I wouldn't look like a tomato for the rest of the morning. He chuckled, and began to eat his breakfast.

Once we were done eating, we headed down to his Volvo. Of course, he carried both of our suitcases. He's such a man, I swear. The ride to the airport was about a half hour, but I didn't even realize it. I was too caught up in Edward's hand in mine, his thumb rubbing the back of my hand gently.

The plane was due to leave at eight-thirty, but we ended up having to sit in the terminal for an extra half hour. He got us first class seats, and I didn't argue with him at all as I plopped down on the comfortable seats. He took a seat next to me, not even bothering to fight over not getting the window seat; god I love this man.

"My parents are going to be thrilled to see you." He said, putting his arm around me. He squeezed me to his side, and kissed my temple.

"I hope so. I'm actually really excited to go back to Forks. I really miss it."

"A lot happened there." Edward replied. When they announced that we were allowed to take off our seatbelts, he took mine off for me, and set me in his lap. I snuggled up into his chest, surrounded by his wonderful scent.

He suggested reading the copy of Romeo and Juliet that I brought for me. I handed it to him, and he began reading to me. His voice was smooth and dreamy, putting me to sleep in a matter of minutes.

By five o'clock, we were in a rental car headed over to his parent's house. They offered to pick us up, but Edward insisted that it would ruin the surprise. I just shook my head at him. I was almost sick to my stomach with anticipation for the night. I wasn't at the point of hyperventilation, but I was getting close to it. When he parked outside of their perfect white mansion, I almost died.

"Breathe, Bella." He told me, leaning over to kiss me. I instantly got lost in his lips, my hands tugging on his hair. Too soon for my liking, he pulled away, a smug smile on his face. He knew he had won. I surely wasn't trying to fight him.

He got out of the car and was opening my door in the next second. We walked up to his front door; well…he practically dragged me along beside him. He knocked a few times on the door, and waited for someone to answer it.

His mom opened the door. She looked flawless; way too young to have two kids in college.

"Edward!" She gave him a hug. "I've missed you!"

"I missed you too, mom." He patted her on the back a couple of times before pulling away.

"Bella? What are you doing here dear; I thought Edward said you were spending Thanksgiving with Charlie? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you could come, I just wasn't expecting this." She looked at me curiously before giving me a hug.

"Mom…you said you wanted to meet my girlfriend."

She stepped back and looked at both of us, shocked.

"You and Bella…. Oh my god!" She broke into a smile before hugging me again, tighter. "I've waited so long for this to happen. Carlisle! You owe me fifty bucks!" She called to her husband, grabbing my wrist and pulling me into the house.

It hadn't changed much, I noticed. The living room still had the hugest TV I've ever seen, with a game system and every game known to man. There were different pieces of art on the walls, but that was the only major difference. Esme led me into the kitchen where Carlisle was preparing dinner.

"Why do I owe you…Bella! What a pleasant surprise. Esme I thought Edward was supposed to be bringing over his new girlfriend." Carlisle asked, just as confused as his wife was.

"I did." Edward said simply.

"You mean….? Darn." He replied, pulling out a fifty dollar bill and handing it to his wife.

"What was that all about?" Edward asked.

"Oh, your father and I bet on how long it would take for you and Bella to get together. I said by Christmas, he said by summertime. Thank you sweeties for letting me win." His mother replied, smiling broadly.

"I'm glad to see you guys together even if it cost me fifty bucks." His father replied, giving me a hug. He hugged his son after me, and continued with dinner.

"Do you need help carrying your luggage?" Esme asked kindly.

"No, I'll get it mom." Edward said, kissing my cheek before leaving the room. His lips burned a spot on my cheeks.

"Do you need help making dinner or something?" I asked, trying to make myself useful.

"No dear, don't worry about it. You can always go upstairs and talk with Alice and Jasper; if you can get them off of each other for more than a few minutes." Esme laughed before going to help her husband make dinner.

I walked up stairs, and ended up meandering into Edward's old room. We would be staying here for the next few days. I was glad that Alice's room wasn't the one right next to us; I really wouldn't have looked forward to hearing her and Jasper throughout the night.

His room hadn't changed one bit, mainly because he doesn't live in it anymore. His two old dressers were still standing on the back walls, collecting dust. He still had the huge, double bed in the center, and shelves upon shelves of books and CDs. That man had the worst music addiction I've ever seen. I was looking at one of his CDs when he came walking into the room, setting our luggage down at the base of the bed.

"What do you have there?" He asked, looking at the CD. He walked over to his stereo, and put it in. After pressing a few buttons, a familiar song began to play.

"Care to dance?" He asked me, holding his hand out.

"Your pathetic you know that right? Putting on the one song you know I would never refuse to dance to." I sighed, taking his hand.

His left arm had a comfortable hold on my waist, as the other was grasping my hand. I leaned my head onto his chest, and smiled as we began our dance. I managed to only step on his shoes twice, and his reaction each time would be to kiss me and laugh. When the song was almost over, someone barged into the room.

"You're here and you didn't even bother to come say hi to us!" Alice screamed, running over and hugging me.

"I'm sorry Alice, I got a little distracted." I glared at Edward half assed; I really didn't mind. "Besides, I wasn't sure what I'd walk in on if I opened your door to announce our arrival."

"Oh, shut it." She teased, hugging Edward. "Rosalie and Emmett should be here any moment now, and then we'll eat dinner and relax, because I know the flights are draining."

"Sounds like a plan to me." I said.

All three of us went into Alice's room to include Jasper in our session of 'catching up'. At five, Emmett and Rosalie came to the house, putting their stuff in the room next to ours.

"I hope you guys weren't planning on sleeping because me and Rosie here are really loud when we're getting it on." Emmett joked, earning him a slap on the back of the head from Rosalie.

After they got settled, we ate dinner with Carlisle and Esme. It was such a relaxing meal, that I forgot that I was even nervous in the first place. They were both so kind and welcoming I should've known that they wouldn't see my relationship with Edward in a bad way.

We ended up gathering around the TV to watch a movie after dinner was over. I wasn't really paying much attention to it; I was really drained from the day. I ended up falling asleep half way through it. Edward gently lifted me up, and walked me to his old bedroom.

"Let me change into my pjs." I told him when he set me down on the bed. I pulled out a pair of shorts and a tank top from my suitcase, and changed in the bathroom. I brushed my teeth before going back into the bedroom. Edward was crawling into bed in just his boxers; I had to admire the sight of his bare chest.

"Are you going to continue to stare, or would you like to come join me?" He asked with a smug smile on his face.

"As appealing as that offer is, that couch down stairs was really comfortable so…" I teased, turning around and pretending to head out of the door.

"Oh no you don't." He said, jumping out of bed and successfully grabbing me before I left. He scooped me up, and began attacking me with kisses. I loved it when he kissed my cheeks, and my neck, but I wanted him to really kiss me. I took his face in both of my hands, stopping him from what he was doing. He looked at me oddly before I smashed my lips against his. This brought on a battle as our lips moved together, and our tongues fought for dominance. It was all too soon before I couldn't breathe, so I rested my forehead on his.

"How about we take this to your bed?" I suggested, running a finger down his chest.

"It's bedtime, Bella. You need to sleep." He replied, kissing me one more time before tucking me into bed. He got in next to me, curling me into his chest.

"Goodnight Edward, I love you." I told him, kissing his chest.

"I truly love you, Bella. Sleep sweet dreams, I am forever yours."

God, my life was perfect.

**AN: is that not two chapters in one day? I astound myself. **

**So I know I've been talking about writing a lemon in this story to you guys, and I just want to let you know if I do it…it's only going to be one lemon in this story. Honestly, I don't want this story to turn into "the sexcapades of Edward and Bella" because that's truly not what this it. If I write more than one lemon, I think that it will essentially ruin the story.**

**I know this was a filler chapter, but you really needed a stress less one, and it's like the longest chapter in the story.**

**Next chapter, I'll introduce to you Thanksgiving and drunk Edward. Good times (:**

**I'm not sure if its really going to be drunk Edward but if you have ideas about that….please leave them with reviews!**


	12. Everyone Loves Drunk Edward!

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: Edward: Jess, for the last time YOU DON'T OWN ME!**

**Me: I do when you're drunk.**

**AN: AHH! It's five in the morning, and all I can think about is writing about a drunken Edward. There are sooo many ideas buzzing in my head that I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do. But I'll start typing and see what happens. When I said about having a drunken Edward, a few people asked if this is where the lemon comes in. NO! If I didn't want them to have make-up sex, they definitely would not be having "I'm drunk and horny" sex. Trust me, I'm not that mean. Haha. Thanks once again to Absolutely Cullen because she gave me the best ideas for this chapter and everybody else that reviewed; this is for you guys (:**

_Careful, when you open_

_It's easy to be broken_

_In the strangest fashion_

_Just watch my heart's reaction_

_The only time I ever noticed my heart_

_When I noticed you yeaah_

_When I noticed you yeah_

_---Noticed; Mute Math_

BPOV:

"Happy Thanksgiving, love." Edward whispered, waking me up. He walked over to the bed and sat down beside me.

"Five more minutes." I complained, rolling over again.

"It's noon; you have to get up now." He gently shook me. I groaned as I sat up, refusing to let go of the warm blankets. He put his arms around me and hugged me. He kissed me long enough to get my heart racing, and my lungs burning for air. He pulled away with a smile, knowing he got me up. I got a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of the suitcase before heading into the bathroom to change. When I came out, Edward was dressed in a pair of jeans and a black shirt. He looked like a model.

"We'll go help Esme with Thanksgiving dinner." Edward said, taking my hand and leading me into the kitchen.

"Happy Thanksgiving Bella." Esme said, giving me a hug.

"Happy Thanksgiving! What do you need help with?"

"You can get the salad ready if you'd like." She offered, pointing to a spot on the counter with lettuce and other random vegetables.

We spent an hour getting everything ready. There was so much food! We had turkey, ham, mash potatoes, salad, green beans, cranberries, peach iced tea, spiced apples, and bread. It was crazy; you'd have thought we were feeding a third-world country. It wasn't until two-thirty that the turkey was completely cooked. We set the different dishes on the table, and soon enough, everyone began filling their plates.

"Everything looks really great." I complimented Esme as I began spooning mash potatoes on my plate.

"Are you sure you made enough for everybody? I think Emmett's going to have all of this gone in about three minutes." Edward joked, seeing as Esme wasn't used to Emmett's large appetite.

"I'll be glad if there aren't very many leftovers this year." She replied.

"You and me both; we always have enough to have turkey lunches and dinners for three weeks after Thanksgiving." Carlisle said in such a serious tone that we all couldn't help but laugh.

"You'd think he was kidding, but that's the only thing I ever remember about  
Thanksgiving." Alice said, passing me a bowl of spiced apples.

"Are there any special plans for tonight?" Jasper asked from his spot on Alice's left.

"I was thinking we could go to the club up in Seattle; Emmett and Rosalie haven't been there before." She suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Rosalie replied.

So it was decided that we would go to the club later; after the football game of course. You couldn't expect the guys to miss out on that one. We finished the meal up after about an hour; the girls stayed and helped clean up the table while the guys jumped to the living room to watch the game. I loved having Thanksgiving at the Cullen's house. Esme was always like a second mother to me…but not in that weird way that would make it that Edward would be almost a brother to me…that's gross. We cut the boys each a piece of pumpkin pie, and joined them in the living room.

Edward thanked me as I slid on the couch cushion next to him. He rolled his eyes at my distance, and repositioned me so that my legs were hanging over his lap, and my back was against the armrest.

"That's much more comfortable, thank you." I told him as he smirked at me.

"I try." He said through a mouthful of pie.

The game was much more boring that I figured it would be. Detroit got completely killed, but that was to be expected (**AN: sorry Detroit fans but….get serious Haha**). The only reason I stayed was the fact that once Edward had finished eating his desert, he began to rub my feet; the boy's hands were magic, I swear. After the game was over, Carlisle and Esme excused themselves to go to the lake to relax. It was amazing how well located their house was.

"What do you guys want to do now?" I asked, seeing as there was nothing good on television.

"We have to go get ready to go out tonight." Alice replied, pulling me up from the couch.

"Edward, if you value your place to sleep at night you will not let her take me." My eyes pleaded with him, in a failed attempt to get away from her.

"Oh come on Bella, it's really not that bad." Rosalie said, as we walked up to Alice's bedroom.

"I'm going to shower; or would you like to assist me there to!" I huffed, clearly being sarcastic.

"WHAT?! IS THERE GIRL ON GIRL ACTION GOING ON HERE AND NO ONE'S TELLING ME ABOUT IT!" Emmett burst into the room, looking around frantically.

"It's called sarcasm, sweetie, go back upstairs." Rose patted his shoulder and sent him out of the room.

I showered for a lot longer than I should have; shaving my legs twice, and washing my hair about three times. Let's just say, I wanted to be extra cautious. Alice gave me a short, blood red dress to put on. She styled my hair expertly, curls falling gracefully around my face. With the addition of a silver necklace and matching shoes, I was ready to go.

"You look absolutely gorgeous." Edward said, caressing my cheek. He gave me a kiss before walking me out to his car.

"We'll meet you guys at the club." I told Alice as I got in the car.

The ride was quicker than I would have expected. I should have known, though; Edward was never one to obey the speed limit. When he opened my door, I was surprised to see that we weren't at Eclipse, the club we normally went to. He must have noticed the slightly confused expression on my face, for he felt the need to clarify.

"Alice wanted to try some place new. She heard there was going to be a huge party here. I figured you wouldn't mind." He smiled, walking over to the entrance with his hand in mine. The rest of the group was already waiting there for us. After getting the once over from the bouncer, we were allowed in. Edward gave him the evil eye before following me in.

It was insane inside. There were multicolored lights flashing everywhere, and people dancing and drink all around the place. There were comfortable couches in the corners, and a huge bar exactly opposite the DJ. There were even stripper poles here! Of course, there were no strippers tonight or we would have been out of here in about two seconds. We all sat down at a table closest to the bar, setting our coats on the rack behind us.

"I have the best idea. Let's play a game!" Emmett said, not surprising us at all. When did he ever not want to play a game?

"What game can you play in a club? Besides seeing how can count the most hoes in the place?"

"No, this game is much better than that. We'll take turns, for every letter of the alphabet; you have to say the name of an animal. If you don't answer in three seconds, then you have to take a shot. I can start it, and we'll go around the table." He explained before ordering a round of shots. When they got to our table, the game began.

"Alligator."

"Bird."

"Cat."

"Donkey."

The game was actually quite interesting. I had to take two shots, whereas poor Edward had to take about six or seven. Let's just say he wasn't anywhere near sober by the end of the game.

"Bella-ella, let's go dance!" He slurred, taking my hand and leading me out onto the floor. We barely got into the crowd of people before Edward grabbed my hips, and pulled my ass back to his chest. We began grinding, and to me, it was more like letting Edward cop a feel. His hands were roaming everywhere, from my stomach to my legs. In a matter of minutes, there were very few places on my body that he hadn't touched yet.

"You don't know how bad I want to rip this dress off of you."

"I think I do." I told him, laughing.

"Did I tell you how nice of an ass you have? It's very firm and tight. I like it. I want your ass." He said, grabbing my butt. He was so funny when he was drunk. I took his hand off of my butt, and placed it on my hip as we continued to grind.

"What are you doing? My hand was very comfortable there!" He exclaimed, jumping back a step.

"Oh get back here." I said, pulling him towards me again. He smiled, dazed, as he placed his hands back on my hips. I noticed him get preoccupied with looking around the club before he suddenly stopped dancing.

"I've got a special suuuurprise for you. Don't you move!" He winked at me before walking over to the DJ. Well, it was more like wobbling than walking. It took me a while before I saw Edward hop up on one of the poles. This was not going to end well, was all I could think.

A vulgar rap song came on, and Edward started to shake his hips on the pole. There were girls screaming around him, ogling him like crazy. He began to take of his shirt, waving it around his head. I started laughing so hard.

"That's _your _boyfriend, you poor thing." Alice came up to me, patting me on the back.

"That's _your_ flesh and blood, you poor thing." I teased her back, watching him on the pole. He was shimmying and wiggling his butt; it was very hard not to laugh.

It was only when he slipped his belt off did I realize, oh shit that's my boyfriend up there. Yes, it was hilarious, but he was about to get down to his birthday suit in front of a ton of slutty girls. I figured it was time to save him from his embarrassment. I walked over to where he was dancing, and tried to get him to come down.

"Edward! I think the girls have had enough, time to get down." I told him, holding my hand out to him.

"Good idea, come on up!" He exclaimed, pulling me onto the pole with him. I heard men start to cheer for me to dance; like hell that was happening.

"No, it's time to go home." I told him, putting his belt back on for him.

"Awe Bella! I was just getting to the good part!" He complained as I slipped his shirt back on.

"There's a drink back at the table for you." I tried, and successfully got him to go back to the table. There was a round of complaints from the girls when he got down but I ignored it.

I got him a glass of water, and eventually got him to calm down a bit.

"Hey there little buddy, how're you doing?" Emmett asked Edward as we put our coats on.

"My little buddy is fine, thanks for asking. He's going to be very happy by the end of the night." He nudged Emmett, looking in my direction. He started laughing as I shot him a glare.

"This is all your fault. If you hadn't suggested we played that game, he wouldn't be this wasted right now!"

"Chill out Bella, it's not my fault he doesn't know his animal names!" He tried to defend himself.

"Bullshit! You try and find an animal with the name that starts with 'U' or 'X' or 'Q'!" I yelled, dragging Edward out of the club.

I sped off to his house after I buckled him in. I didn't care that I was going probably twenty miles over the speed limit; I needed to get him home.

"You have very nice thighs." He said, running his hand up and down my thighs. I was really glad I shaved today. I slapped his hand away after a few minutes….it was very distracting to my driving.

"You like it when I do that." It wasn't a question; he knew what his touch did to me.

I continued to ignore him when I finally pulled into his garage. I put my arm around his waist, and helped support him to the bedroom. When I shut the door, he turned to me and began to kiss me. Even though he was drunk, he was still an amazing kisser. He tasted horribly like alcohol, but I couldn't help kissing him back. He was running his hands along my sides, driving me completely crazy. When we separated for air, he took his shirt off. I was too busy staring at his wonderful chest to realize he was taking his belt off. I grabbed his hands, stopping him before he slid it off.

"Don't."

"Come on, Bella! You know you want to see me naked!" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"You need to go to sleep." I repeated his words to me the last time I tried to get him to have sex with me.

"You know, I'm not wearing underwear." He whispered in my ear, in a serious tone. Well….as serious as you can be when you're totally trashed.

"Shouldn't that be my line?" I joked, seeing as women normally say that.

"YOU'RE NOT?!" He exclaimed, trying to lift the bottom of my dress up.

"I was kidding Edward; it's time to go to bed." I dragged him over to the bed and pushed him down.

"I like it when you're rough with me." He said. I was laughing so hard as I took his shoes off his feet. I tucked him into bed before sliding in next to him. I wrapped my arms around him, like he always does to me, and kissed his head goodnight.

"Mmmmm, you're breasteses make a very nice pillow." He kissed my chest before resting his head on it. I stroked his hair as he fell asleep, thinking about how horrible his hangover is going to be tomorrow. I was about to fall asleep when Emmett opened the door.

"Hey Bella?"

"What?"

"Urchin."

**AN: well there you have it, drunk Edward. ISN'T HE JUST THE COOLEST?! Hahaha. This chapter was the funnest chapter I've ever had to write. For the next chapter, I'm thinking it will be a brief visit with Charlie, and then I'll skip over to the Christmas season. I'm not absolutely sure. If you want to fling some ideas at me, I'd love you for it.**

**Peeeeace out!,**

**Jess**


	13. Beautiful Surrender

**Chapter 13**

**Disclaimer: me- I OWN YOU Edward CULLEN!**

**Edward: Aahh, stop yelling, my head is killing me.**

**Me- it's called a hangover Edward, suck it up!**

**I don't own twilight**

**AN: I'm so glad you guys liked drunk Edward as much as I do! I honestly don't know quite where this chapter is going so…I'll just type and see what hits me.**

_There is no better loss then to lose myself in you_

_Move me up through the darkest clouds  
Till I've lost in the sun every shadow of doubt  
There is no better find than to find myself with you  
In a fog you are all I see  
I'm inviting you closer with each time I breathe  
Surrender has somehow become so beautiful_

it's such a beautiful surrender

_It's such a beautiful surrender_

_--Control; Mute Math_

EPOV (cause we all know how much you missed him last chapter):

I died. That was the only plausible explanation for the consistent throbbing in my head. I tried to sit up, only to fall back down on the bed. I'm guess I'm not dead, but this is just as good as it. I noticed vaguely that Bella wasn't lying next to me. I was about to roll over and try to sleep the obvious hangover off, but a sudden upsetting in my stomach had prevented me to do so. I moved as quick as I could to the side of the bed, and threw up; I didn't want to get it on the comforter. I'm sure my mom wouldn't be all too happy about it being on her floors but… I hadn't had time to think about it much.

I opened my eyes and realized that there was a bucket on the floor beside the bed. Somehow, it ended up in there instead of on the floor. Thank god for that one. Just as I was about to try and crawl out of bed, Bella walked into the room.

"Are you okay sweetie?" She asked me, sitting down on the bed. She handed me a cup of coffee and two small pills.

"This sucks. Thank you." I replied, swallowing the medicine. She scooted back towards the headboard, and put her arm around me.

"This is the price you have to pay for drinking insane amounts of alcohol. I have to admit though; you're hilarious when you're drunk. I had a very good time."

"Oh….shit. I didn't do anything too horrible did I?" I couldn't remember anything from last night.

"You mean you don't remember what happened last night? I gave you my virginity and you don't even remember it?" She looked like she was about to cry.

"I-WHAT?!" I exclaimed, spitting my mouthful of coffee out.

"I'm just kidding Edward. You did try very hard to take it, though. And if this whole piano thing doesn't work out for you… I'm sure you'd make a ton of money stripping." She told me.

I set my coffee cup on the nightstand next to me and groaned.

"I made an ass out of myself didn't I?" I asked her.

"Yes, but you are a very cute ass." She said, putting my head in her lap and stroking my hair.

"You're way too good to me." I told her, turning my head to kiss her thigh. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Bella."

"You'd be one heck of a mess." She agreed, and I laughed.

"I love you so much."

"I love you, too. Don't forget that when we're sitting at the kitchen table with Charlie and his friendly, fully loaded shot gun."

I had forgotten about that entirely. Of course, being back in town, she would want to stop by and spend time with her dad before we left. I wouldn't deny her that, either; that would be incredibly rude. The pounding in my head wasn't doing anything to make me want to go.

We laid there for a few hours; I dozed off every once in a while. After Bella made me lunch, I was feeling so much better.

BPOV:

I loved taking care of Edward. He seemed so cute when he needed me to help him get over his hangover. I made him lunch, hoping a full stomach would make him feel better. I took a shower while he ate, and got dressed. I decided that we would go over to visit Charlie around one o'clock.

"We're going to stay the night at Charlie's, right?" I asked Edward as he got up from the bed.

"No, I have a better place for us tonight." He said, giving me a kiss on the forehead.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nope." He grinned as he grabbed a change of clothes and headed into the bathroom.

While he was in the shower, I carried our suitcases down to the Volvo one at a time. I ran into Esme on my second trip down.

"Good morning, Bella. Or should I say afternoon. You kids must've had a good time last night." She smiled, knowingly.

"I don't think anyone had as much of a good time as Edward did." I replied, causing her to laugh.

"I'm not so sure if I believe that one, Alice and Emmett haven't come out of their respective rooms all morning."

"Alice is known to do things over the top. I better go make sure Edward didn't fall in the shower and drown or something." I said, walking up the stairs. I walked into the bedroom to find him showered and dressed, his black polo a wonderful contrast to his light skin. I hugged him, not being able to resist.

"Hello, love." He smiled, wrapping his arms around my waist. He picked me up off of the floor and began to kiss me. He pulled away, letting go of all of me except for my hand. We went into the living room to say our goodbyes to his parents, who where lounging comfortably on the couch. They got up when we walked into the room.

"Thank you so much for having me over." I told them.

"It was a pleasure having you." Carlisle said, hugging me. He went over to exchange farewells with Edward as Esme came up to me.

"I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you've given my son. I see the way he looks at you, I see how much happier he is now. You really have changed him. Thank you, dear." She said, tears forming in her eyes as she hugged me.

"I'm just grateful that you approve of us. I promise, there's nothing I'd rather do than be with Edward." I told her, smiling.

"Are you ready?" Edward asked, holding his hand out to me. I nodded my head as he led me to the car. He opened the door for me, before getting in on the driver's side. Soon, we were on our way to my old house.

"Did you remember to call your father to let him know we're coming?"

Crap. I knew I had forgotten something.

"No. I'm sure he won't mind though, and I do deserve a time to be able to be the one surprising someone instead of being surprised." I said.

"Oh, but we know how much you really love surprises." He said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at his comment.

It wasn't long before Edward had pulled into the driveway to my father's house. It seemed like forever since I've been here. The house was still the same, from the outside at least. I wasn't sure if he had to get it redone inside after burning his dinners; which I'm sure he did.

We walked up to the front door, knocking softly on the door. I really hoped he wasn't fishing with Billy again; it would not do so much for the element of surprise.

"Let's just let ourselves in." I muttered, opening the door. You would think the chief police of the town would lock his door, but it was one of the things he forgot to do the most.

"Dad, it's me, Bella. I'm home." I told him, walking into the living room.

Did you ever walk into a room and get that feeling that something just wasn't right? Sort of a premonition where you know that the second you look around the room, you're going to see something you never wanted to see. That's exactly what happened to me. I agree, it is horribly embarrassing to have your parents walk in on you when you're sucking face with your boyfriend. I have to say though, that it is unimaginably worse to walk in on your father making out with a woman.

Charlie was too wrapped up in whoever she was to notice that Edward and I had walked in. I had somehow refrained from screaming when I saw this, but audibly cleared my throat.

"We're going to have a long talk about this, mister." I said, effectively splitting the two of them up. I noticed that the woman was Sue Clearwater, Charlie's widowed friend.

"Oh, hey Bells." He said sheepishly. "It's good to see you again." He came up and hugged me.

"It's safe to say you have been enjoying yourself while I've been away." I joked, trying to ease up the tension.

"This is Sue Clearwater; you remember her." He introduced me, as she came up and shook my hand.

"This is Edward Cullen, my boyfriend. You remember him." I said, turning the attention to Edward standing next to me. Once I said this, my father took notice to Edward, his eyes wide. I was glad that Sue was here; at least now Charlie couldn't get away with interrogating him.

"Hello Mr. Swan, it's nice to see you again." Edward stuck his hand out politely to my father.

"Boyfriend, eh?" Was his response, ignoring the handshake.

"Yes." I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Do you treat her well?"

"As best as I can, sir." Edward said, smiling at me.

"Alright, then I guess I don't have a problem with it." Charlie said, giving Edward a pat on the back. "But if I hear you're anything less than good to her, you'll be hearing from me."

"I think that's enough threats for the day…how about I make dinner?" Sue asked, cutting into the conversation.

We wound up eating spaghetti for supper at five o'clock. It tasted unbelievable; Sue was an amazing cook. Charlie relaxed enough to allow us to have a calm dinner table conversation. We ate our dessert (ice cream) out on the porch, and reminisced about our childhoods in forks. This really was just an embarrassment tactic on my father's part.

When seven o'clock came around, Edward and I decided it was best to leave; he said he needed to pick up a few things from the store for whatever he was planning tonight. We said our goodbyes to Charlie and Sue before hitting the road again.

"Thank you for putting up with my father." I told Edward, rubbing my thumb across his hand.

"No problem. He just wasn't used to seeing me with you as the boyfriend; it was always just the best friend thing for him. It caught him off guard a little, that's all." He replied.

He stopped off at two different stores; a flower shop, and another store that I didn't bother to see what it was. He drove for twenty minutes before stopping the car.

"Look Bella, I really didn't have time to set this up properly, so I'm going to do that now. Can I trust you to stay put?" He asked, pulling the bags out of the back seat.

"You have my word." I said. He kissed me before shutting the door.

I passed my time by singing random songs that would come to mind; I always did this when I got bored. It seemed like ages before he was back, but that was probably because I hated being away from him for too long. He opened my door, and quickly put his hand over my eyes.

"I cannot risk you peaking." He whispered, leading me to wherever we were going. I was nervous already, smelling the woods around us.

EPOV (just a brief thing):

I was nervous. Scratch that; I was completely scared out of my mind. I hadn't told Bella what I was planning for tonight, and I was just hoping that she would appreciate my efforts. I bought a few things to create a romantic atmosphere for tonight. God, I hope it wasn't too much. It would be a huge step for our relationship if tonight goes well. If it goes wrong….I don't want to wake up tomorrow.

BPOV:

"Take a look." Edward said when we finally stopped walking. I opened my eyes and almost fainted at the sight in front of me.

We were at the meadow, a place we used to go to escape the world when we were in high school, and things were getting stressful. It was a quiet place to think, and forget everything around you. The place itself was very romantic, but what Edward had done to it now, made it look even more breathtaking.

There were pink, red, and white candles resting on dark wooden candle holders everywhere, creating a glow around the meadow. Rose pedals danced across a cream blanket, in the center of all the candles. The air smelt sweet with the scent of the flowers, only adding to the perfect scene in front of me. I never expected this before, and I could have cried at the sheer thoughtfulness of Edward's actions.

"Edward, this is beautiful." I told him, walking over to the blanket. I kicked my shoes off, and he did the same.

"_You_ are beautiful." He put his arms around me, looking me straight in the eye. "I wanted this moment to be perfect. I want everything that I give you to be perfect. I want to show you how much I love you, how much you mean to me. Bella, I want to make love to you." He said, making my knees shake. His words, and the adoration in his eyes made me want to fall to the ground; he really was too much.

"Edward." His name was a whisper on my lips as I cupped his cheek in my hand. "Please." I said, bringing my lips up to his.

**EBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB (but really, this isn't a kinky scene, this truly is a love scene so don't feel like you can't read it because it's vulgar)**

Our kiss was slow, and tender, allowing us to reveal in the moment. It grew more passionate as it went; our tongues becoming tangled with each other. My fingers played with the bottom of his polo, lifting it up as far as I could get it to. He pulled away for a moment, lifting his arms so that I could get the rest of it off of him. Even though I have seen his chest many times before, it never looked quite like this before. The light from the candles flickered across his chest, in an almost diamond like way. He was truly gorgeous.

My fingers played across his chest, tracing the muscles of his abs. Wherever my fingers went, my lips followed soon after, causing a delicious moan to sound from Edward's lips. My hands were shaking as I undid his belt, casting it aside in a pile with his shirt. He lifted my chin up, kissing me deeply for a moment.

"Love, you have too many clothes on." He smiled, reaching for the hem of my shirt. It quickly became thrown into a pile next to Edward's clothes. I felt exposed as he began to unsnap my bra.

"You truly are the most heart wrenchingly beautiful person I've ever seen." He said, once my top half was completely uncovered.

I loved him for trying to make me comfortable in my obvious state of low self esteem. I couldn't control myself anymore. I attacked his lips, strongly, as his hands began to roam across my sides. He let go of my lips, making a trail of kisses down my neck, and across my collarbone. He gently laid me down on the blanket, as his mouth began to move on my breast; pepper light and smooth.

"Oh Bella." My name rolled off his mouth as he continued his kisses down my stomach. My fingers laced through his hair, guiding him along. He got my pants unzipped and off in a matter of seconds, throwing them onto the ground. He stopped his kisses to look at me, love radiating in his eyes.

I reached out, and took his pants off for him, revealing a pair of silk, black boxers.

"Are you okay with this?" Edward asked, his finger playing along the waist band of my underwear. I scoffed, as if I wouldn't be alright with him touching me.

"I love you." I said simply. That was all it took for him to kiss me again, ridding me of the last piece of clothing I had on. For a while, we just stayed there like that, kissing on the blanket. But I couldn't take it anymore, I needed him. I could tell he needed me, too, for I could feel his erection poking at my stomach through his boxers.

I slid my hands down his chest, and to the waistband of his underwear. I slipped my fingers in them, pulling them slowly from his hips, and onto the ground. I couldn't resist taking a look at the skin that I had just uncovered. He was perfect. I realized that as I looked at his naked form. His muscles were toned, and his skin was absolutely flawless. He noticed me giving him a long checking out, causing me to blush.

"You're perfect." I told him, running my hand across his cheek.

"You never cease to amaze me." He replied, kissing me once. He grabbed a condom out of the back pocket of his jeans.

He gave me another intense kiss before pulling back, and staring into my eyes.

"I'm going to try to make this as painless as I can. But if I hurt you…. Tell me, Bella. You have to tell me if I hurt you." He pleaded.

"Please Edward, please." Was all I could say.

With that, he entered me as slowly as he could. He planted kisses sporadically across my face, trying to distract me from the pain. I felt a tear run down my cheek, which Edward trapped with his lips; kissing it away. It wasn't long before the pain turned into pleasure, and I was ready for him to begin.

"Make love to me." I asked him, looking up at him. He nodded, and began to thrust in and out of me; the pleasure building up with each movement he made.

"You feel so good Bella." He moaned, kissing me full on the lips.

We were a mess of moans, and labored breathing as he continued his thrusts. I began to feel a coiling in my stomach, almost like a spring about to unfold. I knew that I was almost there; anticipation was thick in the air.

"Edward…it's….I'm…." I said, but all words were lost as the pleasure began to course through my veins. I couldn't think of anything but Edward, and my body became almost paralyzed with the feeling I was having.

"That's my girl." He said, kissing me. "Oh, Bella." He moaned, before the pleasure took him over, too. He slumped against my body, breathing heavily in my ear.

He pulled out of me, and repositioned us so that I was curled against his chest in our normal cuddling position. He grabbed the blanket underneath us and wrapped as much of it as he could around our bodies.

No words were needed in this moment, for none would suffice. What just happened, what we felt, couldn't be said through words. We said it all the previous moments. Now all that was left was to hold each other under the stars, looking at each other through the candle light.

"I love you, forever Bella." He told me, kissing my head.

"You are everything to me." I replied, resting my head on his chest.

This moment, this night, was perfect.

This was _heaven._

EPOV:

_This_ was heaven.

**AN: omg I was sooo excited about this chapter after I discussed it with Absolutely Cullen! ******** I really hoped you liked it. I tried so hard on it!!! I wanted to make the lemon classy, and tasteful. Not those smutty things you read in one shots. It's supposed to be a very special moment so i tried to write it as romantically as i could.**

**I'm almost smack out of ideas for the next chapter, but I'll figure it out**

**LEAVE A REVIEW!!! They make me write more**

**Love, Jess**


	14. How Did This Happen?

**Chapter 14**

**Disclaimer: Me- You are my bitch Edward, I own you. You must fuck me**

**Edward- well…..you see…..me and Bella have this….thing, it's called love. I can't have sex with you. And you still don't own me. Stephanie Meyer does.**

**AN: Wow, I'm at chapter 14. I never EVER thought I'd make it this far. I love every single one of you reviewers (even the ones that would only say update in their reviews….) because without you guys, this story would be down the tubes. I'm so thankful for the reviews I got on the last chapter. YOU GUYS LOVED IT! (: Thanks once again to Absolutely Cullen, she really helps me sort out my ideas, and adds in a few of her own.**

**This chapter…when I wrote it, I wasn't sure where it was going. But then I got a major idea. Hope you like!**

_Fall back on all of your premonitions _

_And just learn to listen; to those that have more wisdom than you_

_And just stop putting so much stock in all of this stuff_

_Live your life for those that you love_

_The One I'm Waiting For; Relient K_

BPOV:

It was exactly one week from today that we celebrated Thanksgiving in Forks, which also means it was about a week since Edward and I first made love. I never thought that was how our trip would end, but I'm so glad it happened. He was such a hopeless romantic at times, which only made the experience better. It completely changed our relationship. Now, everything we did had such intensity; it was absolutely amazing. We hadn't gotten around to telling our friends what happened that night. Honestly, I'm not sure how to bring it up. You can't just be talking about the weather one moment and then drop a bomb like that on them.

The Christmas season has officially begun. You could tell because there wasn't one store you could go in that wasn't selling decorations, or had their own decorations hanging up. Edward and I were real slackers when it came to fixing up the apartment for special events. That's mainly why we don't really have people come over. We decided that tonight we would go out with our friends to get trees for our apartments; it seems like a good way to get to spend some time with each other in the hectic season. I'd never really gotten a real tree before, so I was pretty excited to make a change this year. At the moment, Edward and I were sprawled out on the couch, eating lunch.

"You know what I haven't done in a long time?" I asked him, turning my head to the side so he could see my face.

"Had sex?" He through out there, causing me to slap him on the chest, lightly.

"It's been a week sweetie, that hardly constitutes as a long time. What I was talking about was that I haven't made cookies in a long time. I want to bake cookies."

"Then let's go bake cookies." He said, lifting me off of the couch and carrying me into the kitchen.

"I'll get out the packet of cookie dough mix." I said, getting a bowl out and setting it on the counter. I looked into the pantry, and found the chocolate chip cookie dough mix on the second shelf.

"I've got the egg and butter." Edward replied, putting a stick of butter in the bowl, and cracking the egg into it. I poured the mix into the bowl as he got out the mixer.

I was lucky to not have dough fling around the room as I turned the mixer on and began blending the ingredients together. After about ten minutes the dough was ready. Edward already got a cookie sheet out, and was putting wax paper on it before I stopped him.

"What are you doing?" I asked, pointing at the pan.

"I'm getting the cookie sheet ready so that we can put the dough on it. You do know how to bake cookies, right love?" He asked me, questioning my mental state.

"No, silly, we're not baking cookies that way. Didn't you ever just eat the dough? That's the best part of the cookie!" I grabbed two spoons and stuck it in the dough. I put a scoop of it on my finger and lifted it to Edward's mouth.

"That can't be good for you." He said, eyeing my finger like I was trying to force feed him poison.

"Oh, just eat it." I said, shoving my finger into his mouth. He swallowed it before a huge grin crossed his face.

"Cookie dough has to be the greatest thing I've ever eaten in my entire life." He said, sticking his spoon in the bowl to retrieve more dough.

"I told you." I smirked, putting my arm around the bowl and digging into it. I'd move my back to him, guarding the bowl every time he'd try to get more dough.

"Bella." He growled, picking me up and setting me on the counter across from the one the bowl was on. He grabbed the bowl and ran down the hall.

"GET BACK HERE CULLEN! THAT'S MY COOKIE DOUGH!" I shouted, chasing after him. I sprinted into the bedroom, watching him dive down onto the bed.

"Nope, I helped make it. This is my cookie dough, too." He said smugly, taking a huge spoonful of dough and putting it in his mouth. I lunged at him, shoving my spoon into the bowl. When I got enough dough on it, I flung it at his face. It landed on his forehead, and somewhat down his nose. It was silent before I started laughing very hard.

"You think this is funny?" He asked, glaring at me. His forehead wrinkled up a bit, causing the dough to drip down his eyebrow. His actions just made me laugh more. He took a handful of dough and smeared it on my neck, and down my chest through the V-shaped collar of my shirt.

We both just looked at each other and laughed, throwing the dough at one another. We practically cleared out the bowl by the time we called a truce.

"You ruined my cookies." I frowned, resting my head on his chest.

"I'm sorry love." He said, kissing my forehead. We laid there for a few minutes before I couldn't take it any longer. I reached my head up and took a huge lick on his forehead, smiling as the dough ran down my throat.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" He grinned crookedly, kissing my cheek.

"Did I ever tell you how delicious you taste?" I asked him, taking another lick off his forehead.

"Well, it is an off day when I don't have someone telling me how edible I am." He replied, pulling me off of him. "You better go get cleaned up; we're going to be leaving soon.

I got off of the bed, and headed towards the bathroom. Before I got all the way in though, I had an idea.

"Want to join me?" I whispered, giving him the sexiest look I could muster. He was at my side in less then ten seconds.

After the best shower I've ever had in my whole life, Edward and I got dressed for tree picking. Jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt, and a plaid red jacket seemed to do the trick for tonight.

We got into the Volvo, and headed off to get the tree. We decided to just meet the group there, to save the hassle. It only took us fifteen minutes to get there, but we were the last ones to arrive.

"Took you guys long enough. I want to go get my tree!" Emmett huffed the second we walked over to them.

"Chill, we're here now. Let's go get the trees." I said, grabbing Edward's.

"I want a huge tree!" Alice said as we walked through the rows of Christmas trees.

"I _have _a huge tree….in my pants." Emmett said, winking at Rose. We all chose to ignore him.

"What do you think of this tree?" Edward asked, pointing at a tree a little to the right of him.

"Too….bulky." I told him, continuing our walk. I wanted to try to find a way to tell the group about my night with Edward in the meadow. We talked about random things, like football and the bitch in Alice's psychology class. Nothing that we talked about would be able to transfer into sex talk. I hoped loosely that Emmett would say something perverted again that I might be able to add in about losing my virginity but he chose the one time I needed him to say something sexually related and he doesn't. Jerk. I was sweating bullets before I finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Me and Edward had sex." I blurted out, causing them to look at me.

"You mean you lost your v-card?" Alice asked, smiling broadly before giving me a hug.

"My little Eddie got laid. It seems like only yesterday I was teaching him how to pee into the toilet." Emmett faked tears, giving Edward a man hug.

"Oh, fuck off Emmett." Edward said, laughing as he pushed him away.

"How big is he?" Rose asked me, not bothering to keep her voice down.

Edward blushed horribly as I smiled at him; I'd never seen him blush this badly. I mouthed the words "huge" at her, causing her to laugh. Apparently Jasper saw it, because he gave a chuckle, too.

"Ew! That's my brother. I don't want to know how he is in the bedroom!" Alice exclaimed.

"Technically….it was the meadow…." Edward pointed out, causing the girls to gasp.

"You guys had sex in the meadow? That is sooo romantic!" Rose said.

"I love her." Was Edward's reply as he kissed me on the forehead.

The rest of the night was…amusing. Instead of looking for trees as Alice, Jasper, Edward, Rose, and I were doing, Emmett would stop the people near us and shout:

"HEY! MY LITTLE BUDDY EDDIE OVER HERE GOT LAID!"

Sometimes, he really was too much. After the sixth person he told it to, Edward got a little annoyed.

"Look Emmett, that's great that you're happy about my now existent sex life, but no one else really cares."

Emmett just shook his head, and continued badgering the next couple standing a few feet away from us.

We found the perfect tree about twenty minutes later. It wasn't too big or too small, and the branches were a perfect length. Edward, being the gentlemen that he was, paid for the tree.

"I even bought a few mistletoes for the house." He winked at me, kissing my cheek.

"Mistletoes?"

"Yeah, I like having an excuse to kiss you." He smiled.

"You don't need an excuse to kiss your girlfriend." I told him.

"Well…in that case…." He smirked, putting his hands on either side of my waist, effectively trapping me against the Volvo. He pulled me into a passionate kiss, before we heard a throat clear.

"I know you're probably dying to rip off your clothes and get it on, but this is not the place for it!" Emmett said, laughing before getting into his car. I rolled my eyes as we got in the car.

"When are they bringing our tree to the apartment?" I asked him as he pulled onto the road.

"They'll send one of the guys out tomorrow. But I did manage to sneak a mistletoe." He replied, pulling a mistletoe out of his back pocket. He put it in the air between us with his left hand. He leaned his head over to kiss me, completely oblivious to the road. When we pulled away for air, we were blinded by a set of headlights, that were way to close to our car. The next second, there was the loud sound of the front of two cars colliding at high speeds. Edward must have known what was happening before it actually did, because in a second, he was hunched overtop of me, curling me into a ball in his chest. The windshield shattered, and the airbag had inflated on only the driver's side of the car. For a minute after the crash, I couldn't find the courage to open my eyes. When I did, I wasn't greeted with a happy sight. There was glass on every possible surface of the car, broken into thousands of pieces. The windshield was entirely destroyed. Edward was probably so upset, this was his favorite car.

When I looked at him, I noticed his eyes starting to close before his body slumped against me.

"Edward. Sweetie, are you okay?" I asked him, but he was unresponsive. I took my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed 911.

I had Edward resting in my lap, as I tried to soothe him. It was a vain hope at this point that he'd regain consciousness with just my help. He had a gash a little ways above his temple, which was bleeding down his cheek. His back was the worst part, I knew, but I couldn't face looking at it. When the ambulance finally arrived, they took Edward off of me, and put him on a stretcher.

"Miss, are you hurt?" One of the workers asked me, helping me out of the car.

"I'm fine." I replied, walking to the truck with them. When I got in the back, I saw that they had hooked him up to an oxygen machine. I sat next to his stretcher, and held his hand during the ride to the hospital. It really wasn't for his benefit, though. I held his hand because it felt like the only thing I could do to keep him with me. But what am I saying, he'll be fine. Edward's a fighter.

The attendant sitting next to Edward on the other side asked me to explain what happened. I needed a moment to regain my composure a few times during the recount of the accident, but I was finished telling the story once we arrived at the hospital.

"They're going to send him to the emergency room, so you'll have to take a seat in the waiting room." The attendant said, taking the stretcher out of the back of the truck with the help of a few of her co-workers.

I don't know how I got my feet to move, but somehow I made it to the waiting room. I was going to call Alice or Rosalie, but I figured it could wait; I had a more important call to make.

"Hello?"

"Esme? It's Bella. I think you and Carlisle need to come out here; Edward and I got in a car accident tonight. I'm fine but….he's in the emergency room right now. He hasn't been conscious for a few hours." I told her, trying not to cry over the phone.

"We'll be on the next plane out there." She said, before adding, "Please, take care of yourself, dear, everything will be okay."

"Thank you." I said, hanging up the phone.

I didn't know what to do with myself. I paced the room; I tried to read a few magazines, but nothing I did ever kept my attention for longer than a few minutes. I was probably just in shock. How was I supposed to know that this was going to happen?

This shouldn't be happening to me. It couldn't be real.

**AN: well… there you go. Most of you probably hate me right now but I had to do it. The moment had set itself up so perfectly that I couldn't help it. Stay tuned for the next chapter guys! (:**

**And leave me some of those wonderful reviews!!!! I want to know what you think!**

**Love, Jess**


	15. The Aftermath

**Chapter 15**

**Disclaimer: Me- Edward, I own you**

****No sound but the heart monitor beeping*****

**Me- Edward, wake up. I OWN YOU! I command that you wake up**

****No sound*****

**Me- Alright, I don't own you….will you wake up now?!**

****No sound*****

**AN: Sorry for the cliffie last chapter! I tried to get this one out a-sap so you don't have to worry anymore Hahaha. Thank you for all the positive responses I got on the last chapter!**

_Everyone has their obsession  
consuming thoughts, consuming time  
they hold high their prized possession  
it defines the meaning of their life_

You are mine

_You are mine_

_You are mine_

They're our objects of affection  
that can mesmerize the soul  
there is always one addiction  
that just can not be controlled

_You Are Mine; Mute Math_

BPOV:

Three hours, sixteen minutes, and thirty six seconds. That's how long Edward has been in surgery. I called Alice, and she was quick to come over to comfort me. It ended up that we had to comfort each other through the unbearable time it took them to operate on Edward; he was her brother, which made it ten times worse. My hands were shaking uncontrollably as we sat in the waiting room and cried. I expected to feel relieved once the nurse came out to tell me how he was doing, but I just felt like my heart was sinking with the weight of the news she was bringing me. Alice and I rushed to her the second she came out of the doors.

"Edward is out of surgery right now, and is being transferred to a room on this floor. The procedure went well, but I'm sorry to say that he still hasn't gained consciousness." She told us. "He'll be in room 107; you can go in there now if you'd like."

Alice and I walked down the hall to Edward's room. I almost didn't want to open the door, afraid to see what was on the other side. I had to see him again, though, so I turned the handle, and walked into the room.

It was overwhelmingly bright, like most hospital rooms are. Edward was lying on a hospital bed, tubes running from his mouth to this big machine, and different wires stuck on his arms and chest. His hair was flat, and matted down on his head. His skin was sickly pale, the worst I've ever seen it. But even with all these little things that would make most men unattractive, I still found Edward to be unbearably gorgeous. It tore my heart into a million pieces to see him lying there, helpless. His face looked peaceful, almost as if he were sleeping. I walked over beside his bed, and brushed his hair off of his forehead. I don't recall how long I stood there, running my fingers through his hair. Alice came over and patted me on the shoulder before sliding a chair underneath me so I could sit beside him.

"I'm going to pick up my parents from the airport. I'll be back soon. Are you going to be okay?" She asked me.

"I'll be alright." I told her, giving her a hug before she left.

I was silently glad to have time alone with Edward. It almost seemed absurd to me how much I missed him already, especially when he was right next to me. That was the thing; he wasn't here. His body might be lying inches from me, but in mind, he wasn't here. I don't just love Edward for his body, and this is proof of it. I was crying, tears streaming down my face, because I am so close to losing the only thing that I could ever need more than oxygen. It was at this moment that I realized that I couldn't possibly be apart from him ever again. We have this irreversible bond, I know it's true. I feel it every time we are together. This is what love is, and I was so lucky to have it.

The only sounds in the room were my breathing, and the beeps of Edward's heart monitor; the only thing that was letting me know he was still alive. I kissed his forehead before falling asleep in the chair.

"Bella, wake up honey." I felt someone shake me, taking me out of my sleep. Esme and Carlisle were standing in the room, along with Alice.

After waking me up, she went straight over to her son. She took his hand in hers, before she start to cry softly. Carlisle went over and kissed his son's cheek before addressing me.

"How are you holding up Bella? I know things like these can be very traumatic."

"I'm fine." I said my voice cracking.

"I'm going to talk with the doctors, and possibly see what I can do to help them. I'll be back soon." He said, leaving the room.

The room was flooded with eerie silence once he left the room. I continued to stare blankly at the wall opposite me. I was just entirely lost at this point, not sure what to do or think. Alice went to the left side of the bed, and held Edward's other hand. She began to whisper reassurances to him, more than likely trying to relieve all of us of the worries that coated our every thought. When Carlisle came back in, he radiated hope into the room.

"I took a look at his x-rays, and the damage on his spinal cord is at a bare minimum. It seems that he might not be paralyzed at all, which is fantastic news. They said that he will have to go to physical therapy for a few months once he wakes up, for his legs and his back, but that's to be expected." He said, rushing over to his wife's side.

"You mean, they don't know when he'll wake up?" I gulped, shaking slightly.

"Not yet. Please though, don't worry about him. Sleep is one of the best ways the body can recover and rebuild itself. It does something that modern medicine can't do. It's best to just let him get his sleep. His body will wake him up when it's ready to."

I nodded my head, unable to form words yet.

"I'm going to get coffee, do you want some Bella?" Alice asked me.

I nodded my head again, probably looking like a bobble head doll.

At midnight, a nurse came in and told us that visiting hours were over. Luckily, Carlisle was able to get them to let me stay the night with Edward. I scooted my chair as close as I could get to his bed. I stroked his hair like I did earlier, and began talking to him.

"Edward." His name was a whisper on my lips. "You don't know how painful this is. I miss you so much it hurts to breathe. I hope you wake up soon; Christmas would be nothing without you. But don't worry….I'll be here. I promised you I'd never leave you. I love you, so much."

I began to hum my lullaby as he had done for me so many nights before. I rested my head next to his on his pillow, and within a few minutes, I was asleep again.

**AN: sorry this was such an EXTREMELY EXTREMELY short chapter, but I had to get it out there. It makes the rest of the story flow a lot easier if I post it as is now. I loved how many reviews I got were people were flipping out if I were to kill Edward. Theres no way I'd EVER be able to justify killing Edward. I love him too you know! Haha**

**So leave the reviews, they make my day (:**


	16. Where's Waldo!

Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own twilight. Geeesh!**

**AN: there is none, thanks for being patient with me though! I wanted to get this up a-sap so you guys won't kill me haha**

**Sorry if you thought i had another chapter up when you got your alert, but i just wanted to add in this authors note that i'm not getting as many reviews on the chapter as i have in previous chapters. I URGE YOU TO REVIEW THE CHAPTER!! ITS THE ONLY THING THAT GETS THEM OUT FASTER! **

_You're all that I'd hope to find_

_In every single way_

_Because these words were never easier _

_For me to say; or her to second guess_

_But I guess that_

_I can live without you but; without you I'll be miserable at best_

_Miserable at Best; Mayday Parade_

BPOV:

Today marked the third day of Edward's stay at the hospital. He still hadn't woken up yet, but Carlisle had hope that it would be in the near future. It was sweet that everyone cared so much about him, enough that his room was completely filled with flowers and get well soon balloons. We all had conversations with Edward, trying to make everything seem as normal as possible. Although, this all was anything but normal. In fact, I was sitting in my usual chair while Emmett came in to read to Edward. That definitely would never happen.

"I brought the best book, Eddie; you're going to love me for it." He sat down in the other chair beside the bed with a large, thin book in his hands. I smiled at Emmett's enthusiasm.

"I thought that we could read….WHERE'S WALDO!" He exclaimed, opening the book to the first page. I bit back laughter, waiting for him to realize that Edward couldn't help him find Waldo. I didn't want to hurt his ego….yet.

"Emmett….are you sure you can't find something else to read to him?"

"No! This is the best book ever made!" He said, before addressing Edward. "I'll take the left page and you can take the right. This is going to be so much fun!"

After fifteen minutes of hopeless search, Emmett finally threw the book on the ground.

"Damnit Edward, you suck at this! If I ever get lost, make sure they don't send you to come find me because I might as well commit suicide at that point!" He huffed, clearly angry.

At that moment, a doctor came in. She said she was just switching his oxygen supply, and giving him an oxygen mask instead of a tube.

"Calm down Emmett, it's just a book." I told him, trying to control his temper.

"Not to me it isn't. I should have known you'd stick up for him; he fucking sucks at finding Waldo!" He stormed out of the room, but not before picking the book up and taking it with him.

"It's okay sweetie, you know how…slow he is sometimes." I said to Edward, hoping he could hear me. I went and pulled a CD out of my purse, and put it in the music player I had bought for this room; I knew how much music soothed him. When I hit play, the wonderful notes of the piano rang throughout the room. I had recorded myself playing a few songs, because I knew I'd never be able to bring my keyboard in and play it for him. I knew that if he could, he would be smiling right now anyway.

"Bella, they're going to put Edward into surgery now; how about you go into the waiting room with Esme?" Carlisle asked me briskly as he bolted through the door.

I nodded my head. I gave Edward a lingering kiss on the forehead before heading out to see Esme.

"Hi Bella, how are you holding up?" She asked me as I took a seat next to her.

"I'm still alive aren't I?" I replied lamely, twiddling my fingers.

"He's going to be alright. I know my son; he's a fighter. He'll wake up." She said with such conviction that I had to believe it, too.

"I never thought you could miss a person as much as I do right now."

"Young love is so beautiful at times, even in the most tragic conditions. Let's not talk about this anymore, huh? What are your plans for Christmas?" She asked, swiftly changing the subject before it reduced us both into tears.

"I figured since you guys are already out here, we could just have Christmas at our apartment." I told her honestly. I thought about this subject last night when I was humming Edward to sleep; it seemed like our best option at this point.

"I like that idea; I haven't seen the place yet."

We passed the time talking about inconsequential things. I told her about life in college, barely avoiding the subject of Tanya. She told me about her latest remodeling that she was thinking about doing to the basement. The conversation lasted until Carlisle came out to talk to us, in his scrubs and all.

"They're taking him back to his room. They fixed his spinal cord as best as they could, but they cannot be sure of the outcome. Not until he wakes up, that is. He still isn't awake." He told us, trying to reassure us with a smile. "He's going to be okay, though. Everything looks promising."

"Can I go see him?" I asked. He told me I could, and I immediately rushed to his room.

He still looked the same, even after hours of surgical work. I couldn't see any visual evidence of what they did on his body. After an hour of sitting, and occasionally praying, a chubby woman in lilac scrubs came into the room.

"Hi, I'm Louise. The doctor's sent me in here to move some of his limbs around so that they don't become weak with lack of use." She said, walking over to his bed.

"Can….can I help you?" I asked shyly.

"Of course. What I want you to do is pick his leg up, and bend his knee back towards his chest slowly, until his knee makes a ninety degree angle. Then straighten it again, starting the whole process over." She told me, showing me what to do with his right leg. I hesitantly took his left leg in my hand, before moving it backward slowly. I was glad to do this, because it made me feel like I could be there for him when I thought there was nothing I could do.

We spent about fifteen or twenty minutes on his legs, before working on his arms. We moved around his fingers, his wrists, and bent his arms at the elbows, straightening them, and bending them again. I couldn't help but cry when I thought about how unresponsive his muscles were. It was the fact that I was the reason he was in this state that caused me even more grief. If he wouldn't have climbed over me to protect me, he would be awake and happy.

"Hun, are you okay?" Louise asked me, stopping her work on his right arm.

I shook my head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked politely, almost maternally.

"I just can't help thinking that this is all my fault. Before the car hit us, he shielded me from the impact of the crash, and if he would have just stayed on his own side of the car, he would be alright. I can't take it, knowing that I did this to him." My voice shook as I used my pointer finger to trace the veins running down his left arm; I couldn't look her in the eye.

"Don't have guilt over this. There's nothing you can do to change the past, but you need to accept what happened. You didn't tell him to protect you, he just did. Be grateful that he loves you enough to risk his life."

"You're right, I'm sorry about this. I really didn't mean to bother you with this." I felt bad for crying in front of her, knowing she had enough stress on her job without having to worry about an unstable girlfriend of a patient.

"It's okay. You needed to get it out. Just relax, I promise things will fall into place for you soon enough. Just make sure you don't wallow in your guilt; when he finally wakes up, tell him how much you appreciated what he did. Don't make him feel bad for it. Good luck with everything." She told me, before walking out of the room.

I slept upright in my chair next to Edward's bed, holding his hand. My head was hanging on my shoulder, straining my neck. It was horrible uncomfortable, but I couldn't stand to be away from him. I woke up after a few hours of sleep do to a weird tingling feeling across the back of my hand. When I looked down to see what it was, I saw Edward's thumb twitching against my hand. I dropped his hand immediately, and rushed to get Carlisle in the room.

"His thumb! His thumb was moving!" I told him excitedly as we walked into the room together, along with Esme.

"Well, I'll test the reflexes in his legs, and I'll check his eyes too, to see if he's regained any bodily consciousness elsewhere." He replied before pulling out a small hammer-looking object out of his pocket, and a flashlight. He lifted Edward's eyelids and flashed the light back and forth to see if his eyes would follow it. I almost screamed when I saw them moving back and forth. When Carlisle finished the test, I noticed that Edward's eyes shut after that, and I was disappointed to think that maybe he hadn't been able to see at all.

Then, Carlisle took the little hammer, and hit it on his knee cap, receiving no response from his leg.

"I….know I haven't…..been the best….son…..but you don't have…..to…hit me." I heard a raspy voice that I hadn't heard it what seemed like an eternity. I looked to see Edward's eyes about a third of the way open.

"Edward!" I ran to his side, and bent down to kiss every inch of his face I could reach. "You have no clue how much I missed you!"

"I….missed you…more." He said, his words muffled by the oxygen mask.

Esme gave him a kiss on the cheek, and told us she had to phone Alice. I stayed there, stroking his cheek for an immeasurable amount of time before the rest of the group had gotten into the room.

"EDDIE!" Emmett screamed, restraining from picking him up off of the bed.

"I'm so glad you're okay Edward." Alice said, smiling up at him.

"Welcome back, man!" Jasper said, putting his arm around Alice.

"Bella's been a wreck without you." Rosalie said, causing me to blush.

Everyone was in a constant buzz of words, trying to recap everything Edward missed while he was out. I mainly stayed quiet, because I couldn't find words no matter how hard I tried. I was too happy that he was actually awake to try and say anything. Luckily, Carlisle was the one who told him all of the medical information; I wasn't a hundred percent sure what I would tell him, and I didn't know any of the medical jargon they used to fancy up the diagnoses.

At midnight, the nursing staff kicked all of the visitors out of the room, except for me of course. Edward said his goodbyes to everyone as they walked out of the room.

"Wait Emmett." He called in as loud of a voice as he could muster.

"What?"

"I may not…have found Waldo. But neither….did you."

Emmett just rolled his eyes before leaving the room. I sat down in my chair beside his bed, and held his hand.

"I did this every night while you were….asleep." I told him, smoothing his hair across his forehead.

"You did?" He asked, breathless.

"I hummed to you, too. I wanted to make sure you were doing okay, even if you weren't fully present."

"You mean…you slept there on…that chair?"

"Where else would I sleep? I couldn't stand to be away from you." I told him.

"Surely you…could have joined….me." He smiled, and I did too for the first time in a while.

"Does the offer still stand?" I asked him, wanting nothing more than to be close to him again.

"Always." He replied, patting his hand lightly next to him.

I carefully maneuvered myself into the bed with him, being careful not to pull any wires or hurt him. When I laid down next to him, he put his arm around me. I snuggled into his chest, finally being able to breathe fully again.

"Goodnight Edward, I love you with all my heart." I told him, kissing his cheek.

"You are my world." He replied before dozing off to sleep.

It felt so good to be with him again.

Now, I was whole.

**AN: I felt so bad about leaving you with a short chapter last chapter, but it worked really well with the flow of this one. So please, review with your OPINIONS ABOUT THE CHAPTER! I do appreciate the fact that you do review, but I don't want to hear someone telling me to "update". I want to know what you think of the chapter…it will only make these better and better. How I got to chapter 16…I have no clue. But I couldn't do it without you guys!**

**Love,**

**Jess**


	17. Exchanging Gifts

**Chapter 17**

**Disclaimer: Do you own twilight? Because I surely don't.**

**AN: This chapter….I hope it goes well. It should be okay because I've thought this over for a few days. Hope you like!****I didn't get the responses I would have liked for the last chapter…it seems like I got much less reviews on it.**

_I can't stop, don't care if I lose_

_Baby you are the weapon I choose_

_These wounds are self inflicted_

_I'm going down to flames for you_

_Baby you are the weapon I choose_

_These wounds are self inflicted_

_One more thing I'm addicted to_

_Self- Inflicted; Katy Perry_

BPOV:

After all the stress-filled events leading up to it, it was finally Christmas Eve. I barely had any time to get Edward's gift, but I think he will be happy with it nevertheless. We decided that later tonight, after his physical therapy session of course, that we would open gifts; just the two of us. We felt it would be more meaningful and private if we didn't open them in front of his family. I was actually nervous to go to his therapy session with him. I had never gone before, and I wasn't sure exactly what I would do there. No matter how uncomfortable I would be, I was still going to go. Edward needed as much support from me as possible.

His back and legs are extremely weak. He was going to be put in a wheelchair, but with his extreme stubbornness for such thought, they gave him crutches. These weren't normal crutches though; they had a metal cuff that attached onto the forearm, and then a metal handle placed lower down on the crutch so that he could grip it with his hands. They made him walk funny, but not in a humorous way. He looked like he had an actual disease because of how his legs would move when he walked. As the days went on, he was showing much improvement, but it still pained him to walk too much. I felt so bad for him; I would do anything to comfort him at this point.

He had trouble doing a lot of things; showers, getting dressed, shopping, and his back had to be supported at all times except for when he was walking. I helped him as much as I could, and I know he appreciated it. He just was having trouble handling the fact that he wouldn't be able to take care of himself, that he would need help from other people. He liked having his independence; after all….he is a man.

"Are you ready to leave sweetheart?" I asked him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I guess." He replied, heading to the door. I kept my hand on his back as we walked to the car. The only thing that was a good outcome of the accident was the fact that I got to drive everywhere we went. That meant that the speed limit was obeyed at all times.

"I feel like such a little bitch." He said, putting his head in his hands.

"Don't start this again. It's perfectly normal to have to recover after surgeries and major accidents. Plus, I love babying you." I said, patting his cheek a little as I laughed.

"I can't wait to get off of these damn crutches." He muttered.

"Soon enough, you will. We'll have to do something special for when you do get rid of them." I replied, grazing my hand up his thigh to reinforce my point.

"I think you need to move your hand Bella." He groaned. I moved my hand further up his thigh, and across his pelvic bone.

"Is right here good?" I asked innocently. He picked my hand up and held it with his, ceasing my movements.

"You're going to kill me one of these days." He shook his head, causing me to laugh.

When we got to the physical therapy building, I had to help him out of the car. He put most of his weight on the car while I got the crutches out of the back seats. I handed them to him one by one, and watched as he put them on properly.

"The other thing I hate about these crutches; they prevent me from putting my arm around you." He frowned as we walked into the building.

"You're so cute." I told him, not bothering to hide my huge smile.

"Hi, I'm here for my three o'clock appointment." Edward told the assistant at the counter.

"Name please?"

"Edward Cullen."

She looked up, and her jaw went slack. She didn't bother to stop running her eyes all over his face. I didn't blame her….Edward was a walking god. After a few more moments of this, though, I was getting highly annoyed. I coughed loud and obnoxiously, effectively breaking her out of her trance.

"If you can please take a seat, Sam will be right with you." She said quietly, her face flushed red.

"What do I do while you're here?" I asked him, as we sat down in two decently comfortable chairs in the corner.

"I don't think Sam would mind if you came with me. He's a really nice guy once you get to know him." He replied.

"So it's not going to be awkward if I just randomly stand there while you're doing your exercises?" I was still a little worried… I hated awkward moments.

"If it gets awkward, just scream awkward turtle and run away." He replied, causing us both to laugh.

After a few minutes, a dark skinned man walked over to where we were sitting.

"Hey Edward. You ready for today?" He asked, smiling as we both stood up.

"I always am. Do you mind if my girlfriend, Bella, comes back with us?" He nodded his head towards me.

"Sure! Hello Bella, I'm Sam." He reached his hand out, and shook mine firmly.

"Nice to meet you." I replied. He led both of us into a small room. The walls were a solid white, and the carpeting was a dark green; darker than Edward's eyes. The only piece of furniture in the room was a cushioned table-like object was set in the middle. He walked over to it, set his crutches on the wall, and laid down on it. Sam walked over to him, and began moving his legs. He took Edward's left foot in his hand, and pushed his leg back as far as it would go, but not too far. I saw the look of pain on his face as he tried not to scream. I quickly took his hand in mine, trying to help comfort him.

"Distract me…please." He whispered, his eyes scrunched up.

"Uhmm….Renee called while you were in the hospital." I told him the first thing that came to mind.

"What did she want?"

"She said that she hasn't gotten to meet you, and she would like to do so as soon as possible." I replied as Sam switched and did the same thing to his right leg.

He groaned.

"And I thought I was finally off the hook for meeting the parents." He sighed shortly.

"Don't worry, Renee will love you. She's like a little kid, and it's hard for her to not get along with someone. She won't pull the 'overprotective parent' garbage that most parents do."

"I'm glad. We'll have to have her over after Christmas." He replied breathily.

Once Sam had finished stretching Edward's legs, and his back, we left the small room. He led us to the larger room in the center of the building, where all the weight machines were. Edward sat down at one of the machines that I didn't know, before addressing Sam.

"How many weights should I do on this one?" He asked, pulling the weight marker out of the machine.

"Just do ten reps on forty pounds." Sam replied. "When you're done with that, start a regular circuit up. I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes." After giving Edward his instructions, he went back to the check-in desk to get his next customer.

Edward started his reps, clearly in pain by the fourth one.

"You're doing really good, sweetie." I said, brushing the hair off of his forehead.

"Thanks." He managed to say between breaths.

I kept my hand affectionately located on his shoulder until he finished doing his sets on this machine. He went to about three other machines, which included a back machine, a thigh machine, and a calve machine. He seemed to struggle with the thigh machine, but I know he was trying to hide it for me. I'm sure that he is showing improvements, though, because he walks better than he used to.

"Alright Edward, you're done for the day." Sam told him after he finished up the last machine.

"How did I do?" He asked quietly.

"A lot better. I upped the weights by ten pounds, and you're able to do it. Good work today." He patted him lightly on the shoulder.

"Thanks. Merry Christmas."

"Same to you guys." He walked back into the weight room.

"You ready to go, love?" Edward asked me putting his crutches on.

"If you are, I am." I replied, smiling. We walked to our car slower than before; he must have been sore from today.

I helped him into the car before getting in on the driver's side.

When we got home, I went straight to the bathroom, and began filling the bathtub up with water for Edward. He couldn't use the shower anymore, because he had the potential to slip and fall.

"Edward, you're bath's ready." I told him, setting a towel on the sink. He walked in, topless, and began taking off his pants.

"Thank you." He kissed me.

"I'll go make dinner while you're cleaning up." I said, leaving him to his bath.

I went into the refrigerator, and found a frozen pizza. I hadn't had pizza in a while, and I'm sure Edward would like it too. I put it in the oven, set the timer for twenty minutes, and then went to change clothes. I put on a pair of sweatpants, and a red t-shirt.

"Love, can you help me?" I heard Edward call me from the bathroom. I walked in to find that he was having trouble getting out.

"Of course." I replied, holding my arm out for him to grab. He lifted his legs out one at a time, careful not to fall. He grabbed the towel off of the sink and began drying himself off.

"Thank you." He said, kissing my forehead.

"No problem, if it means I get to see you naked, I'll help you out of the bath anytime." I said, laughing. When I turned to leave, I felt Edward slap me on the butt with his towel. I turned around and gave him a shocked look; he just laughed.

"I was going to set your clothes out for you….but if you're going to assault me with a towel, I don't think I will." I teased, sticking out my tongue.

"If you don't set out my clothes for me, you may never see my naked body again." He teased back, wrapping the towel around his waist.

"That's fine, it's not like your body is that great to look at anyway." I lied, hoping he wouldn't catch on. He raised an eyebrow, clearly aware that I lied.

"Let's get moving, I'm hungry!" He said, using me for support as we walked into the bedroom. He went into the closet, as I heard the timer go off.

"The pizza's ready. I'll go get it while you're changing." I told him, walking into the kitchen.

Once I had the pizza out, and cut into slices, Edward came and sat down at the kitchen table. I put two pieces on a plate for him, and one on mine. We began eating in silence, before Edward said something.

"This pizza is really good." He said, taking another bite.

"Thanks, I do make a mean pizza. It's an Italian thing…you wouldn't understand." I said, knowing he would realize that I can't make pizza to save my life.

"I'm sure Bella." He rolled his eyes at me.

"I'm so excited for Christmas." I told him honestly.

"How can you be excited for Christmas? You hate getting gifts, and that's basically what this whole holiday is about." He replied.

"I like to look past that part." I really didn't like getting gifts. "I like Christmas because you get to have your family over, and this will be our first Christmas together."

"That is true."

We ate the rest of our meal in comfortable silence; we were both really hungry. I was going to push having dessert so that it would stall our exchanging presents, but Edward saw right through me.

"Please, Bella?" He practically begged me, shuffling over to the tree.

"Alright." I replied, sitting down by the tree.

"Can I give you one of mine first?" He asked.

"There's more than one?" I groaned, putting my head in my hands.

"I'll take that as a yes." He chose to ignore my question, and reached under the tree. He handed me a small box wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper, a jewelry box if I did say so myself. I unwrapped it to find that I was right, it was a velvet red box, and containing some type of expensive jewelry I was sure.

"Now, before you open it, I have to say something. I love you. You know how much I love you. You are always there for me, no matter what I do or what happens. I'm not sure what I would do without you, especially after the accident. I'm not asking you to marry me, yet, but I am saying this. I want to put this ring on your finger, and promise you that one day, I will put an engagement ring on that finger. One day, Bella, I want you to be my wife." He said, opening the box in my shaking hands.

It was beautiful. The band was silver, with small, scattered white diamonds on it; surrounding a large white diamond. I couldn't breathe when I looked at it for too long. My heart was racing, and my head was pounding. He didn't really just fake-propose to me did he? I know I loved him, with every fiber of my being, but I couldn't accept this. Things were moving way to fast for me, and I just couldn't tell him yes.

"Edward, it's lovely. I'm sorry but….I think we need to slow it down. I can't accept your gift." I told him, watching his face drop. I don't think I've ever seen him feel this rejected.

"That's okay, Bella." His voice was monotone, threatening to crack at any moment.

"I still love you, you know." I said, trying to bring the light back in his eyes.

"I know." He nodded his head, looking at the ground. "It's getting late; let's not open any more presents tonight." He said, struggling to get up off of the ground.

"You haven't even opened mine yet." I replied, trying to get him to stay.

"I'm sorry Bella; I need to get my rest." He put on his crutches, and walked to the bedroom without another word.

I almost burst into tears, but I couldn't at this point. I couldn't process what just happened. A minute ago we were happy, smiling and joking. The next, I had pretty much taken a hammer to his heart and shattered it. I felt horrible, but I couldn't lie to him. We were going too fast, too soon, and if we kept it up, we would watch it all fall apart.

Merry fucking Christmas Eve to me.

**AN: if you're reading this…you finished the chapter. Since the last chapter didn't get as many reviews as I would have liked…. I will not post another chapter in this story until I get 20 reviews.**

**Thanks guys! I can't believe I'm at chapter 17….i thought I'd only make it to like chapter 8. its amazing! Thanks so much to everyone that reviews!**


	18. Merry Effing Christmas

**Chapter 18**

**Disclaimer: me- Edward, you are my Christmas gift to myself….since I already own you**

**Edward- shut the fuck up, I just got rejected okay?!**

**I don't own twilight. Just the plot of this story.**

**AN: I love you guys. I started writing this chapter about four hours after I posted chapter 17 because I got so many reviews. It wasn't that hard…see? There's a lot of POV flip flopping in this chapter…but I used it effectively.**

_Stab my back its better when I bleed for you_

_You walk on me it never was enough to do_

_I can't get past it, falling faster its true_

_It hasn't done a lot for you_

_You nearly broke my heart just look at what you're tearing apart_

_Stab My Back; All American Rejects_

EPOV:

I cannot believe today is Christmas. How can little kids be jumping up and down to open presents, and the whole world rejoicing, while I felt like dissolving into my mattress for the rest of my life? I know it sounds dramatic, but it's true. I worked so hard to get Bella that ring. I saved up money since October in the hopes of getting her something special, something that she deserved. I looked in a handful of jewelry stores to find the perfect ring, and when I thought I had it, she tells me she doesn't want it. I know I have to respect her decision in not excepting the ring but…. It's just a symbol of how much I love her. It's just something to remind her that I will always be there for her, and that I will always care for her. How could she turn that down if she truly loves me too?

I would have slept on the couch, if it wouldn't have been a problem to my back. My back is too weak to handle the strain that the couch would have put on it. Bella slept with me last night, cuddled into my chest. I only reluctantly put my arms around her, not wanting to be close to her after what happened.

It wasn't that I didn't love her anymore; actually this was far from that. Rejection hurts, and even if she wasn't breaking up with me, it felt like that. It seemed that her turning down the promise ring was almost like her turning down the idea of being with me until we die. She made it seem like she wasn't ready to be committed with me. I'm not sure I could handle that well.

I've been up for an hour now, watching her sleep. I hate the thoughts that creep into my head, but I can't ignore them. She is so beautiful, resting in my arms that I'm overwhelmed at how badly this hurts. I never try to cause her pain, but she does it to me accidentally. It must be pathetic that I still love her as strongly as I did before.

"Merry Christmas." She stirred in my arms as I kissed her forehead.

"Merry Christmas." She replied, kissing me. "I'll go make breakfast, okay?"

"Sounds good." I told her, my heart tearing a bit after the kiss. It hurt to be around her.

After lying in bed for a few more minutes, I realized that I couldn't put off the rest of the day any longer. The sooner I started to move on with my day, the more normal I would seem in front of my family. I wobbled over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. I got my crutches and limped down the hall, and into the kitchen. Bella was scrambling eggs at the stove when I walked in.

"How are you feeling this morning?" She asked, and I knew that she was referring to my legs after yesterday's therapy session.

"I'm fine." I told her, though emotionally I was anything but.

"Everyone's coming over at noon, so I'm going to be starting the ham after we eat breakfast. You can just relax, and watch the television if you want." She said me, sending me a warm smile as she poured milk into two glasses for us.

"Alright." I replied shortly. She put the eggs on the plates, and handed one to me. She sat down next to me and put her hand affectionately on my knee.

"About last night Edward…" She started off, but I couldn't dare let her finish.

"Let's just forget about it." I said, not looking up from my plate. She was silent the rest of the meal, and I was just glad that I didn't completely flip out on her. She didn't deserve to get yelled at; my anger wasn't towards her. It wasn't her fault that she didn't love me as much as I love her.

This is going to be one fan-freaking-tastic Christmas.

BPOV:

This was going to be one fan-freaking-tastic Christmas. Of course, it was my fault that I had to ruin it all. Why couldn't I just accept the ring? It wasn't that I didn't love him, it wasn't that at all. I just…I saw how Renee and Charlie's marriage ended, because they got married too early. I really didn't want that happening to us. We were moving too fast, and if we kept up this pace, we would end up alone and miserable. It was because I loved him so much that I didn't accept the ring, not the other way around.

Esme and Carlisle arrived a few minutes earlier than everyone else, and I was grateful for the distraction of company.

"Merry Christmas." I greeted them at the door, giving them hugs.

"Merry Christmas to you too Bella." They replied as I welcomed them into the apartment. Carlisle set down a few gifts under the tree, before addressing me.

"Where is that son of mine?" He asked, looking around.

"He's probably in the bedroom, it's right down the hall if you want to go see him." I pointed to our bedroom door, where I was sure Edward would be.

"Do you need help in the kitchen?" Esme asked me politely, as she slid off her coat.

"That would be great, thanks." I told her. I led her into the kitchen, where I had a mess of different things spread out on the countertops.

"I can start making a green bean casserole if you'd like me to." She said, fishing out a can of green beans from the pantry.

"Okay." I told her, feeling a little upset still over last night.

We worked in quiet for a while, before I realized that maybe she was the person I wanted to talk to about this. She is his mom; after all, she would know what to do.

"Esme, do you mind if I talk to you about something?"

"Sure sweetie, what is it?"

"It's about Edward. You see he got me the most gorgeous promise ring I have ever seen, and he started talking about marriage and…I told him I couldn't accept the ring. Now, he's completely miserable. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, you must know that. I still love him, but I think we're moving too fast." I gushed, trying to get her to understand.

"Oh Bella, it's okay." She comforted me, putting her arm around me as I started to cry. "I know that this must be hard on you, too. I just want you to answer something for me; where do you see yourself in five years?"

"Uhmm….I'll be out of college by then. I'll have a steady job and maybe a lovely house in the city."

"Will you be married?"

"I'm not sure." I told her honestly.

"What about ten years from now?"

"I think I would be."

"Who could you see yourself being married to? Who could you see yourself starting a family with?" She asked me, smiling as she went to get a dish out.

Suddenly, I saw it. A picture in my mind that showed me the life I could have years from now. It was me and Edward, buying our first house together. It was me and Edward, exchanging vows in front of a preacher. It was me and Edward, playing with our children in the yard. It all made sense now; it all seemed to be realistic that we would end up being together. I finally saw what Edward must have when he picked out the promise ring.

"How could I be so stupid?" I asked myself, shaking my head.

"Don't worry about it, we all make mistakes. When Carlisle gave me his high school ring, I flung it in the river where he gave it to me, telling him that he shouldn't play games like that with me. Now you see where we are? It was all just a little bump in the continuous road."

"Thank you so much." I appreciated what she did for me. I knew that it was a wise choice to talk to her. She understood exactly where I came from.

I finally felt like I knew what I was going to do. I now knew how I was going to make this right.

EPOV:

"Son? Are you in here?" I heard my father opened the door, and come into my room. I was sitting at the piano, playing a slow tune.

"Merry Christmas." I told him, my fingers never leaving the keys.

"Same to you. How are you doing?" He asked me, sitting down on the bed.

"If you want the conversational response, then I'm fine. If you really want to know, I'm horrible."

"What happened?"

I sighed, getting up and sitting next to him on the bed.

"I got rejected by my girlfriend." I replied, fidgeting with my fingers.

"Edward, I know I raised you to be a gentleman….if Bella isn't ready to have sexual relations with you, you have to respect that."

"No, not that! I gave her a promise ring for Christmas and she told me she couldn't take it." I groaned at his wrong assumption.

"Well, you have to think about this kind of thing in a woman's point of view. This is everything that girls dream about since they were little kids. It's not the fact that Bella doesn't want to get married to you that she rejected the ring, it's moreover the fact that she is growing up that she can't handle. Some people have a hard time coping with age than others. This is just something she has to work out on her own. You need to be there for her, and be supportive of her; even if this decision isn't what _you _want. Just give her some time; I'm sure she'll come around eventually." He explained. When his speech was over, I felt a little better about things. I could give her time, which was the only thing I could give her at this point.

"Thanks for the talk, dad." I told him, giving him a man hug.

"I'm here anytime you need me." He replied. "Except for now, because I'm hungry, and I think there's a plate of ham out there calling my name."

BPOV:

The table at Christmas dinner was completely packed; the whole gang was here. Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, Esme, Carlisle….all of them were gathered around the table to begin eating. We had almost the same foods we had at Thanksgiving, with the addition of a beef brisket, and rolls. It was so nice to have everyone here for the holidays.

"How is everyone's Christmas?" Esme asked, starting conversation.

"You'll never guess what happened to us." Emmett started off, only to get a groan sounding from Rosalie.

"Don't tell this story, please don't tell this story." She begged him, but he just brushed it off.

"Okay, so I thought it would be a really good idea to set up something special for Rosie over here. So Christmas Eve, it arrived at our door. I knew exactly what it was, so I had her answer the door. It really wouldn't have worked out how I planned if I was the one to open the door. It would ruin the surprise of the whole gift."

Rosalie cut in.

"Then, I open the door to see this disgusting man in a Santa suit just standing there. He told me he heard that I was on the naughty list and needed a spanking. I wasn't really thinking straight at this point, I was just pissed that this stupid man decided to ruin our Christmas eve, so I punched him in the face before slamming the door."

We all burst out laughing; even Edward's parents couldn't contain there laughter.

"You got Rose a stripper for Christmas?" I asked incredulously, although, it does sound like something Emmett would do.

"I thought she would appreciate it. I know I would if I got a stripper for Christmas." He replied as rose shook her head at him.

"I should've known you'd pull something like that off this Christmas." Edward said before spooning some mash potatoes up and eating them.

"I didn't get a stripper this year, but I did get engaged!!" Alice screamed the last part, wiggling her left hand in the air to show off her ring. It glistened in the light above us.

"That's wonderful Alice!"

"How cute!"

"I'm so happy for you!"

Everyone, including Edward, said there praises for them. We all knew that it was bound to happen sometime.

"Yes! I'll take care of the strippers for your bachelor party!" Emmett exclaimed.

"What is it with you and your fascination for strippers?" Jasper asked.

"How could you not be fascinated with strippers? They're people who get paid to take off their clothes! It's so cool!"

We just laughed at him, and continued eating. The meal went by quickly, and soon enough we were opening presents under the tree.

Esme and Carlisle bought me and Edward this beautiful painting, which I was sure, would make our house seem so much more sophisticated. I got Alice a new wallet, and Jasper a brown sweater. There were a ton of presents being tossed around everywhere. We even had a huge pile of wrapping paper that had accumulated in the corner of the room. We all sat and talked for a few hours after the gifts had been exchanged. Soon, though, it was too late for any of us to continue our conversations.

"Good night guys, Merry Christmas!" I waved them goodbye as they left our apartment. Edward was sitting on the couch, looking at his hands. I went over and bent down so that I was eye level with him.

"Hello love." He said, smiling a little before giving me a kiss. I was glad that he wasn't being as distant now as he was this morning.

"I was thinking, if you are still willing to give me that ring, I'm ready to take it." I said, fumbling for words.

"Are you serious?" His eyes lit up when I nodded my head. He pulled the box out of his pant's pocket, and slid the ring onto my finger.

"Thank you so much. I love you." I told him, cuddling next to him on the couch.

"You have no idea how happy you just made me. Just out of curiosity though, what made you change your mind?"

"I had a talk with your mother, and she put things in perspective for me. It's not like we're getting married tomorrow or anything either."

"Exactly. Now, if I do recall, you never finished opening my gifts to you." He said, pointing to the box left under the tree.

"Shit. I have to go get yours, hold on a second." After I had talked to Esme, I had to make a few adjustments to Edward's gift. I got both of them out from underneath our bed, before going back into the living room. I handed him his gifts and sat down next to him, eager to see his response.

He carefully opened the first box I gave him. It was a pre-made scrapbook. I filled the pages with pictures from the past years of me and him. I thought it was something that he could appreciate, and by the look on his face, he did. He flipped through the pages, and got to the blank ones that I had already labeled.

"I love it." He said, stopping on one of the labeled pages. "Do you really mean this?" He asked, pointing to the heading which read 'Our Wedding'.

"It's bound to happen sometime. I thought I'd dedicate a page to that, and our first child….the good memories that we should document." I told him honestly. These were the adjustments I had to make on his gifts. I wanted him to know that I wasn't afraid of forever with him.

"Thank you." Was all he could say before he crushed his lips to mine. We kissed for what seemed like hours, though I wasn't complaining.

"Go get your other gift from me." He said, refusing to open the other one I got him until I did.

I got it quickly and sat back down on the couch. When I unwrapped it, I noticed it was a box that held clothing. I took the lid off to reveal a silver teddy. I blushed as I held it up.

"I'm impressed. You must have had real balls to walk into a lingerie store to get this." I told him, trying to hide my cheeks.

"It's called 'online shopping', love." He replied, starting to open my last gift to him. It was a set of silk boxers, the kind I know he likes. He looked at me and smiled.

"I wish we both didn't have so much sexual tension that we resorted to buying undergarments for Christmas." Edward said, laughing.

"Just a few more weeks."

"I can't wait." He whispered, putting his hands around my waist before lowering his lips to mine.

Yes, this was a fan-freaking-tastic Christmas. The best one I've had in a long time.

**AN: I think this is the longest chapter. You guys that reviewed…it made my life. I was able to write this chapter in the SAME DAY as I posed the last one. I'm running a little tight on ideas….but I think I have one that I might put into use for the next chapter….i'll have to think about it.**

**Remember- 20 reviews and then I'll start writing the next chapter (:**

**Love, Jess**


	19. Drunk Bella?

**Chapter 19**

**Disclaimer: Me- Edward! **

**Edward- Jess, let us not start this again. You don't own me….I gave Bella a promise ring, so I really can't have any relations with you.**

**Me-not even a one night stand?**

**Edward-well…..NO!**

**I don't own twilight.**

**AN: I don't know how the hell I got to chapter 19, but I want to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter; it really helped move this one along.**

_I'll sit back and I'll watch the show_

_Yeah I'll watch the show_

_And I'll lay awake; and I'll watch the stars_

_As they collide_

_Yeah my eyes, they don't see_

_And I don't breathe the way I used to_

_My lips won't, they won't sing_

_I won't be the way I was on that night_

_Here Goes Nothin'; NeverShoutNever!_

BPOV:

Today was a huge day for Edward. He was going to have possibly his last physical therapy session. It was only two days before New Year's Day, but he was showing such improvements that Sam thought he might be ready to get rid of the crutches. To say we were both excited would be an understatement; I couldn't wait until he was perfectly fine again. Of course I knew that he wouldn't be perfectly healed until at least mid- January, but it was still nice to see that he was getting better.

I was hoping that he would at least be up for New Year's Eve, considering we had plans that night. Tomorrow, Alice wanted to have a get-together with Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, and I so that we could all celebrate the New Year together. As much as I didn't want to be at a huge party for my first New Year with Edward, I knew that I would have to go anyway. I really couldn't see a way out of it. Either Alice would pout, and beg me to go, or she would use her sibling powers to convince Edward to bring me along. I couldn't win.

We were currently sitting in the waiting room, where we have been for the past half hour. Apparently, Sam was working with another patient at the moment. I hated waiting in offices like these, especially when you're anxious for information like I was. I could tell Edward was restless, too, because he kept bouncing his leg up and down. After a few more minutes, which really seemed like hours, Sam called Edward back into his office. I wasn't sure if I was able to come back, in case this was personal, so I just stayed in my seat. Edward gave me an apprehensive smile before following Sam.

EPOV:

I was scared shitless as I followed Sam back to his office. What he was about to tell me in the next few minutes could either make me extremely happy, or make me want to punch a wall out. Either way, I had to know if I was ready to get rid of my crutches or not.

"Take a seat." Sam motioned to a chair in front of his desk. I sat down, leaning my crutches up against the wall.

"Please tell me you have good news." I said, practically begging him.

"It depends on what you think is good news." He started to say, pulling out a file from a drawer in his desk. "Your legs are healing up remarkably, which is good news. You can get rid of your crutches, which is good news. The only things I have to say which won't be much good news to you, is that your left leg is weaker than your right leg. It isn't healing as quickly as your right leg."

I took a deep breath before asking my question.

"What does that mean now then?"

"It will heal, eventually, but you'll have to use a cane for probably the next month or so, until it is completely healed."

A cane. Are you kidding me? I'm not even in my mid-twenties and I'm going to need a cane. I can just imagine all the weird looks I'll get, walking around stores and such with a cane.

"You're serious?" I asked, just making sure that he wasn't pulling a fast one on me.

"Yes. If you think about it, though, at least your legs are healing. With the way the scans looked before you started therapy, it seemed as if you wouldn't be able to use your legs as well as before. Now, it seems you will be able to heal them back perfectly, maybe even better than before." He smiled, trying to reassure me.

I guess when I looked at it this way; a cane really wasn't so bad. Things could be a lot worse. I only really had one more concern for him.

"Do you know when I'll be able to….have sex with my girlfriend?" My cheeks flamed red when I asked this.

"As long as you don't stay in a position for too long, you should be able to whenever you're ready." He replied, giving me the best news I've heard in a while.

"Thank you, so much." I said, shaking his hand as I stood up.

"Make sure, before you do anything else, you get a cane from the store. I'm sure a supermarket should have one. You'll need to test a few out and see which one works the best for you. I'll need you to come back in, in two weeks to check on your progress."

"I will. Bye!" I left his office, limping as fast as I could to reach Bella. She stood up the second I came into her view.

"How'd it go?" She asked, her eyes searching mine for the answer.

"I'm getting off these damn things!" I exclaimed. "I just need to use a cane for the time being!"

"That's great!" I could see the happiness radiating off of her as she gave me a hug as best as she could with the crutches in her way. I kissed the top of her head before she let go.

"Let's go get me my old man cane!" I faked enthusiasm as we walked to the car.

We went to a few stores before I finally found one that had a cane that would work for me. I didn't want one of those weird walkers….at that point they should just put me in a nursing home.

"I don't get why you are upset about the cane." She told me over dinner that night. "I personally think it's kinda hot…I mean look at Dr. House…he has a cane and he's sexy!"

"You've got to be kidding me. Dr. House is fictional, and forty something years old!" I laughed at her; she really was ridiculous to the point that it was actually cute.

"I indirectly called you sexy…you should be thanking me for that." She teased, slipping her foot up my pant leg.

"Thank you, love." I replied, trying to forget about her invasion of my pants. "Your foot likes to wander I see."

She blushed a bit, and removed her foot from my leg. I slid my chair closer to hers, and put my hand on her knee.

"It's okay; I quite enjoy your confidence…_that _is sexy. You do realize that Sam gave me the 'ok' to fuck my girlfriend senseless?" I drug my hand slowly up her thigh, and back down again. I could tell she was going to give in soon, especially by the way her breaths were coming in quick spurts.

"Let's finish this somewhere else." She said before grabbing my hand and dragging me to the bedroom.

I wasn't going to fight her.

BPOV:

I loved sex with Edward. I never thought about how much I loved it until it was taken away from me, and then brought back. Nothing compares to making love with him. He was passionate, and intense; I've never felt this way about any before. I'm glad that I took the promise ring from him. It was definitely a step in the right direction for us. I could almost hear wedding bells in my head when he came near me. I'm getting delusional now.

For some reason, I was actually excited for tonight; Alice's New Year's Eve get together I mean. I think it was probably the aspect of starting over, and making all the right changes. I've done well so far. Maybe this will be a promising year.

We got to Alice's apartment at eight; the last ones to arrive. You have to put in account that Rosalie and Emmett lived next store. So if you think about it….we were bound to be last anyway.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Alice gushed as we walked in through the threshold to be greeted by everyone else in the living room.

"I'll go get the alcohol now." Jasper said, getting up and walking to the kitchen. Edward and I took a seat on the couch; Rosalie and Emmett were snuggled on the loveseat.

"What game are we playing tonight Emmett?" I asked, knowing that he probably already had a game lined up for us.

"I thought long and hard about this one…. And I figured….what would be better than playing drunk twister?!" He smiled broadly, satisfied with his answer.

"One problem there, Emmett, I can't play twister." Edward said from beside me, though I don't think he was too upset about now having to play.

"That's okay Eddie boy; you can be the spinner!"

"Twister sounds fun!" Alice agreed, and all hope was lost about getting out of it. If Alice wanted to play it, we all would play no matter what. The only problem was I always lost this game. You can't expect an extremely clumsy person to play twister…it doesn't end well.

"I'll go get that, too." Jasper sighed, setting glasses and a large bottle of alcohol in front of us.

"Thanks, Jazzy." Alice said, giving him a kiss before he headed down the hallway.

After Jasper came back, everyone took a shot to start the game off.

"How can you incorporate alcohol into twister?" I asked, knowing that Emmett would find a way to get alcohol into any situation.

"Easy- you fall, you drink." He said, giving me a smirk. He turned to Edward before saying, "You better watch this one tonight, with all her grace she'll end up more hammered then you were at the club that one night."

"Funny." I glared at him before Alice set up the twister mat.

We decided that we would play twister in rounds; Rosalie, Jasper, and I would go first, and the winner of that round would play Alice and Emmett.

"I'll go first." Rosalie said.

Edward spun the spinner.

"Right hand green." He replied. She made a show of bending over to put her hand on the green circle, much to Emmett's pleasure.

Jasper was next.

"Left foot yellow."

He gracefully put his left foot on the yellow circle.

We kept taking turns, and after a few spins, are bodies were a tangled mess. I wasn't sure who was going to win this round, but I knew for certain it wasn't going to be me.

"Your turn love. Right foot red."

I tried to slide my foot over to the red circle, but my foot went too far because of my socks, causing me to land in almost a split.

"Drink one of the many tonight for Bella." Emmett laughed, filling up a shot glass for me.

There were three more spins before Rosalie was declared the winner of that round. Emmett, Alice, and Rosalie were quick to start the next round; they were clearly in a competitive mood. I sat beside Edward, resting my head on his shoulder while I watched them play.

"This is a piece of cake compared to what me and Rosie do in the bedroom." Emmett said once Edward told him to put his right hand on blue. Alice started laughing, which effectively knocked her down; now it was between Emmett and Rosalie. I was curious as to how this one would turn out. Would Emmett's pride get the best of him and he would win? Or would he let Rosalie beat him?

A few spins later, Rosalie was half turned on her back, and Emmett's butt was right on her face.

"You poor thing, Rose." I told her, glad I was safe sitting on the couch.

"Hey! My butt doesn't smell that bad." And then the worst thing Emmett has possibly ever done happened; he farted.

"SHIT!" Rosalie screamed, falling down.

"Haha, I win." Emmett gloated, standing up and doing a victory dance. Rose gave him a death glare, immediately shutting him up.

"Here, take a drink!" Alice interjected, handing both of them a glass. Alcohol could actually come in handy sometimes.

We ended up just doing a drink fest; well, I did at least. I can't remember what kind of alcohol it was, but it was the best tasting thing I've had in my whole life.

"I think you've had enough, baby." Edward said from beside me, putting his arm around me.

"I could never get enough." My voice was thick with implications as I nibbled on his ear. I heard him groan from beside me.

EPOV:

I love this woman. I've never seen Bella drunk before, and I'm glad that I decided to be designated driver tonight; I'd hate to have missed out on it. She really liked her drink, let me tell you. I was close to encouraging her to continue what she was doing, but I knew that she had well over enough for the night.

I could tell that her drinking had become out of hand tonight when she climbed up on my lap, running her hands through my hair, and grinding her hips on mine.

"Free show? Sweet!" Emmett cried, bouncing next to us on the couch.

"No. Bella, calm down." I said, but just the opposite occurred.

"Don't you tell me no!" She huffed, planting angry kisses all over my face. I could smell the alcohol on her breath.

I effectively got her to sit still, after empty promises that we would have plenty of time for that back at the apartment. Even though we have had sex many times, I just felt awkward taking advantage of her when she is drunk.

"Guys! The balls going to drop soon!" Alice shouted, pointing to the television; it was 11:59.

"10……9…..8…."

"Get ready, love." I whispered in Bella's ear, causing her to shiver.

"7….6…..5…..4…."

The whole group chorused in with the last three numbers before screaming. The New Year was finally here.

I took Bella's face gently into my hands, my eyes trying to smolder hers.

"I love you." I said as I leaned my forehead against hers. I turned my head to the side, capturing her lips with mine.

Soon after, we called it a night. I struggled to get Bella into the car. I was just buckling her in when she quickly pivoted her chest, causing my hand to brush across it.

"If you want it, all you have to do is ask." She slurred, taking my hand and moving it along her breast.

"Stop this, we need to get home." I told her sternly as I got into the driver's side.

I somehow managed to drive her home, and get her safely in the apartment without any nonsense. I set her on the couch, before fixing her a glass of water. She was sitting there, batting her eyelashes when she saw me.

"Why are we having sex on the couch?" She asked, kicking off her shoes. "I don't mind…..but what about the bed? OH! Are we going to have sex on the couch AND on the bed?!" She got excited during the last part, jumping on me. She started spreading sloppy kisses all over my face, causing me to laugh.

"How about we get you to sleep?" I suggested, picking her up in my arms.

"You're right- we would have more room on the bed. You're such a smarty pants!" She giggled, kissing my chest.

I set her on the bed before stripping down to my boxers. She started taking off her clothes too. I assumed that was so she could get changed into pajamas, but in less than a few seconds, her bra was off too.

"Bella, not tonight." I told her, slipping her arms through her bra straps again.

"It's because you're not attracted to me, isn't it?!" She yelled, turning around and slamming her head into the pillow.

"You know that's a load of shit. I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you." I turned her over, staring her straight in the eyes. "In truth, I just don't want to take advantage of you while you are under the influence."

She started laughing, which turned into hiccupping.

"You're funny." She poked my chest. "But I'm always under the influence silly. I'm intoxicated by your very presence." She purred in my ear, and I felt my resolve start to crumble.

"Well then, we'll just have to have some mind blowing sex tomorrow then. Goodnight, love." I tucked her in quickly and kissed her. I pulled her close into my chest, not hearing a sound out of her.

"I love you." I said, tucking her head under my chin.

"I want to fuck you." She replied, before falling asleep.

I groaned when I woke up later, to the sound of persistent knocking on our door. I crawled away from Bella to go answer it.

"You must be Edward!"

Oh my God. This couldn't be…..renee?

**AN: I'm so glad I finally finished this fucking chapter. I have an idea for another story once this one gets done, it's about Bella falling in love and having an affair with her teacher, Edward Cullen. What do you think about that?**

**Let's shoot for 25 reviews ey? Any ideas for the next chapter, and input about the story I might want to start leave with the review!!!!**

**Love, Jess**


	20. Early Morning Chats

**CH: 20**

**Disclaimer: Edward- Jess, could you stop trying to molest me? I'm trying to make a good impression on Bella's mother here!**

**When did I ever own twilight?**

**AN: Thank you everyone that reviewed! I was one review short from 25, but hey…we'll get it next time ******** This chapter took me a while to come up with, but I hope you enjoy it**

_I know you know my boyfriend is out of town_

_So have a drink let's talk it over_

_So many things I shouldn't be saying now_

_You know I like my boys a little bit older_

_I just wanna use your love tonight_

_I don't wanna lose your love tonight_

_All my girls are nowhere to be found_

_They all split when I'm in trouble_

_But I'll tell you all my secrets if you stick around_

_Love is under the covers_

_Use Your Love; Katy Perry_

EPOV:

"Are you going to stare, or invite me in?"

I finally snapped out of it, and composed myself.

"Of course, please come in." I opened the door completely, welcoming her in as best as I could.

"I sure hope your Edward, you are very attractive." She said, hanging up her coat.

"Thank you. Yes, I am. I would take it that you're Bella's mother?" I just wanted to clarify; I didn't want to let in a psychopath into our apartment.

"That I am. You can just call me Renee." I inhaled deeply as she took a seat on the couch. "How about we have a little chat before she wakes up. I take it she is sleeping, correct?"

"Yeah. I could always go get her though…." I really was nervous about being alone with her mother. Honestly, couldn't we get a little heads up?

"No, it's alright. I'd rather her not be here for this." She smiled.

I'm going to die, is all I thought; this woman is going to rip me to pieces and burn them before Bella even realizes she's here.

"Would you like something to drink? I suspect we're going to be here a while, if I'm not mistaken." I tried to be polite, figuring she didn't seem too bad.

"If you have coffee….that'd be great."

I made two cups of coffee as quickly as I could. I set them on a tray, along with creamer and sugar. When I came back into the living room, I found Renee talking on her phone.

"I know I should have called ahead but what's the fun in that……..of course I'm being nice…..no…..well….alright I'll talk to you later. Love you, bye." She hung up the phone.

"Sorry about that…Phil is such a worrier." She thanked me as I handed her a cup of coffee.

"It's okay." I said, taking a cup off of the tray.

"Now, let's start this thing. You seem like a pretty nice guy….but what do you have planned for my daughter in the future?"

Oh god, this was going to be a long morning.

BPOV:

"Now, let's start this thing….you seem like a pretty nice guy….but what do you have planned for my daughter in the future?"

I must be hearing things; there was no way my mother was here, in my apartment, this early in the morning. Between throwing up in the toilet and swallowing a few pills, I promised myself I'd never drink like that again. I smelt coffee as I walked out of the bathroom. That wonderful boyfriend of mine must have made me coffee to help rid my hangover; I really love him.

"I love your daughter, very much. I don't know what I'd do without her, honestly. I'm doing the best I can at the moment to make her as happy as she's made me."

Who was Edward talking to? I wondered down the hall, and was paralyzed in my spot as I saw Edward sitting on the couch next to my mother.

"Bella! So nice of you to join us this morning." She came up and hugged me, though I could not say that I did the same; I was still too shocked to move.

"Love, are you alright?" Edward asked me, putting his arm around me.

"Fine!" I managed to croak out as he led me into the living room.

"What's wrong with her?" Renee asked at him.

"Last night, you know it was New Year's and….well…we went over Alice's…and…"

"You got her drunk didn't you?"

EPOV:

Oh shit. I couldn't even form words. I knew she was going to absolutely murder me now. I blushed horribly, knowing that there was no way to get out of this. Her reaction was what surprised me the most.

"Oh thank god, I never thought it would happen!"

"You're not mad?" I asked her, entirely confused.

"She needs to loosen up a bit, and I know that you were there so I'm sure you didn't let her do something stupid…." She trailed off, daring me to contradict her.

"Of course not! I would never let her do anything that could endanger her life." I gave her shoulders a little squeeze.

"Is there anymore coffee?" She asked me, practically begging me to say yes.

"I'll go get you some." I said, kissing her forehead before going back into the kitchen.

I poured her a cup, adding in a packet of sugar; just how she likes it. When I walked back into the room, I noticed that Renee had her eyes focused on Bella's left hand.

"What is that?" She asked, pointing to the promise ring.

I set Bella's coffee on the table before addressing Renee; I didn't want her getting the wrong idea.

"I know what it looks like….." I started off, only to be interrupted by her.

"You proposed to my daughter and didn't tell me about it?!" She came over and slapped me across the face. "What nerve! You do know it's never going to last right? You're way too young to be getting married. I'm ashamed!"

Damn, that woman can seriously smack. I put my hand up to my cheek, and could feel the skin getting hot where she hit me.

"Mom! We're not engaged…it's a promise ring!" She trudged over to me, inspecting my cheek. "Are you okay sweetie?"

"I'll be okay." I smiled at her, loving how concerned she was about me. She leaned up on her toes and kissed my cheek.

"I'm sorry about that Edward, it's just…I've had a bad history with young marriages. I only want what's best for my daughter."

"I understand, but I promise you that I will give Bella everything that I have to make sure that she gets everything that she deserves. I love her more than I thought was actually possible." I said honestly, as Bella squeezed my waist.

"Thank you, so much. One of these days, you're going to become my son-in-law, and I'll be here with open arms to welcome you into the family." She started crying as she gave me a hug. "I really didn't want this to turn our badly. I was just insanely curious about Bella's new boyfriend. I'm sorry for imposing on you guys like this."

"No, it's quite alright. How about you stay? We have a spare bedroom that you could use." I offered, trying to maintain the peace between us.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Renee asked, looking pointedly at Bella.

"You're my mom….of course you can stay." She smiled, holding her arms out to hug Renee.

"Group hug!" I felt left out as I squeezed them both against my chest.

"I think I'm going to head over to Emmett's place. Why don't you two girls catch up over breakfast?" I suggested, trying to get out while everything was going well.

"Sounds good. I love you." Bella said, kissing me gently. I ended it quicker than normal, not wanting to put on a show in front of her mother.

"As I love you." I replied. "See you later, Renee." I smiled at her as I headed out the door.

Really, I don't know why I said I was going to Emmett's apartment. I'm better friends with Jasper than Emmett….but I figured maybe Emmett would be able to kick make, throw a few laughs my way, and make me feel better about this morning.

I grabbed something to eat from a fast food restaurant before I went over; I figured bringing food would be almost a peace offering for coming over so early, even though it was only eleven. When I knocked on the door, I was surprised when Emmett cheerfully opened the door.

"What's up man?" He asks, inviting me in. "Did you bring me food?" His eyes lit up as he looked at the bag in my hand.

"I wouldn't dare come here without it."

"Thanks. What brings you over here?" He asked, taking the bag from my hand.

"Bella's mother is here." I said, sitting down on the chair. "I had to get out of there while I could."

"Why? Did she threaten to chop off your manhood or something?" He laughed, causing me to roll my eyes.

"No, but she might as well have. She slapped me across the face because she thought I proposed to Bella."

"Haha, that's great. I can't believe she hit you. How did it feel?" He asked, putting a few fries in his mouth.

"Oh it was amazing. I wish she'd smack me again." I said sarcastically. He obviously didn't get that.

"You see, even though I don't like to tell Rose this, I love it when she smacks me. It's incredibly erotic."

After a few seconds, I realized that he got it wrong from the start.

"She hit me across the cheek, you moron."

"I know. Rose hits me across the cheeks, too. Where else would she spank me, my leg?"

"Emmett! No, she BITCH slapped my. As in, across the face!" I said, pointing to my cheek for emphasis.

"Oh, well why didn't you say so in the first place?" He sighed, smiling as Rosalie came into the room. "Good morning, babe."

"Morning." She replied, kissing him on the head. He did a goofy grin at her as he handed her the bag of food I brought him.

"Edward brought us stuff to eat! Want some?" He offered.

"So you offer her food but not me, I see how it is." I joked.

"If you start fucking him, I'm sure he'd be willing to share his food with you too." Rosalie said to me, sitting down on Emmett's lap.

"I'll pass, thank you."

"So what brings you here?" Rose asked me.

"Two words; Bella's mother." I said, shaking my head slightly.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad!" She said, stealing a fry out of the bag.

"She hit him!" Emmett said in a mock-serious tone.

"Did you enjoy it? I know secretly, Emmett loves it when I spank him."

"You both are horrible." I laughed at how alike the two of them are; they're perfect for each other.

I stayed for a few more hours, playing video games with Emmett, and watching the football game before I decided I better get back to the apartment. I walked in, calling Bella's name. She didn't answer me, so I just decided to head to the bedroom to change clothes. When I walked in, I found her lying on the bed, listening to her IPod. Her eyes were closed as she started to sing along with the song. I couldn't believe how adorable she was at times. Her shirt was riding up on her stomach, causing a delicious strip of skin to show. God, I love her. I walked over, and lifted an ear bud out of her ear.

"You really are way too beautiful for your own good." I whispered in her ear, causing her to blush.

"I didn't know you were there." She huffed, shutting off her music.

"If you don't want me here, I'll just go then…" I faked leaving, only to have her tiny hand grab my wrist.

"I never said I wanted you to leave. I'll never want you to leave." She pulled my arm, causing me to fall on top of her.

"Then I'll never go." I told her, kissing her deeply. After a few minutes, I pulled away, resting my head on her forehead.

"Do you know how much I love you?"

"Only a fraction of how much I love you." I replied, kissing her again.

Moments like these where I forgot all my worries from this morning, and all the troubles that have ever happened, were what I lived for. These moments with the one I loved the most.

To say that I was happy right now would be a complete understatement.

**AN: well, theres chapter 20 for you! I can't believe we're here already!!!! I'm going to write another chapter or many two and then that's the end of the story!!!! **

**Please, leave me reviews…I've gotta know what you think!!!**

**25 reviews and I'll write the next chapter. Which I think will be Alice's wedding, or bacholerette party…any ideas?**

**Love,**

**Jess**


	21. Lakeside Revelations

**Chapter 21**

**Disclaimer: I own twilight, kind of like I fuck Edward Cullen every night…phft.**

**AN: Sorry for the long wait to update! (Excuse my rhyme!) I have an idea where this is going to go**

**IT'S THE LAST CHAPTER!! So please enjoy!**

_Bury me standing on your window_

_With a cinder block in hand because no one will ever feel like this again_

_If I could move, sure it would only be to crawl back to you_

_I must have dragged my guts a block... they were gone by the time we {talked}..._

Whoa, I want to hate you half as much as I hate myself

_The Pros and Cons of Breathing; Fall Out Boy_

**BPOV:**

The days had practically flown by us. Renee had left our apartment two weeks ago, without causing nearly as much drama as she had when she first arrived. She and Edward got along really well, which I was extremely grateful for. I don't know how I got so lucky as to be with him, but I know I won't ever let him go. His legs were getting better and better, to the point that he doesn't even need his cane anymore. He was really excited about that. Not as excited, though, as Alice was about her wedding coming up at the end of the week. We already took her out shopping for her bachelorette party (no strippers, thank god). Jasper's bachelor party was tonight, and we girls decided we were going to make an appearance. I know, it's not right to have the bride at the groom's party, but I really couldn't put anything past Alice. This was what she wanted, so this is what she would get.

We went shopping yesterday to pick up a few mind-blowing outfits for our little "surprise". Now, I wasn't going to be a stripper for Jasper, because that was just plain weird, nor was Rosalie; this didn't mean that we couldn't help Alice pick out an outfit, which she told us several times.

At this moment, I was curled up on the couch with my "lover boy", watching House.

"I don't get how you can watch this show; if he were a real doctor, he'd have already been fired after his first case!" He exclaimed from behind me, clearly frustrated.

"No he wouldn't, he's a genius! Besides, there's no need to get jealous, I like my men a little bit younger." I smiled, and kissed his cheek, shutting him up momentarily.

"I really don't want to go tonight." He sighed, "I really don't want to go anywhere you're not."

I smirked, trying not to give away anything about our plans tonight.

"I'm sure you'll have a good time. It's a party, it'll be fun!"

"Whatever you say, love. The sooner it's over, the better." He kissed my head, before we both returned our attention to the television.

At seven o'clock, Edward gave me a swift kiss goodbye before he went on his way to Jasper's apartment. Alice was at the door promptly at ten after seven, followed by Rosalie.

"I'm sooo excited for tonight! I hope he doesn't get mad!" Alice exclaimed, carrying a bag into the room.

"He'll love it. I'm sure it will make the night for him." I responded, earning a large grin from her.

"I'm going to try on this outfit, don't move!"

"That woman….I'll tell you." Rosalie laughed, sitting down at the dining room table.

"She surely is one of a kind. I'm glad her and Jasper are getting married though; I couldn't see them with anyone else."

"I know exactly what you mean. When will we be hearing wedding bells for you and Edward?" She teased, though I could see the curiosity burning in her eyes.

"I don't want to rush anything with him…. I'm not sure when, but I already know it's going to happen. Besides, you and Emmett have been dating longer; shouldn't _I_ be asking _you_ about the wedding bells?"

She sighed deeply before answering me.

"I'm not so sure about that. I know we've been together for a while but…you've seen how Emmett is. I don't know if he really wants to settle down."

"He's….well…Emmett. He loves you a lot, I can tell. Just give him time. I'm sure it'll work out." I smiled, trying to reassure her.

"Thanks Bella." She said as Alice walked down the hall.

"Okay, I have the outfit on underneath this." She waved the material on her midnight black trench coat, which covered only to a little bit above her knee. "I'm ready to go!"

With that, we headed off to Jasper's apartment. Emmett was expecting Rosalie to bring the strippers tonight, although he didn't know that it would just be Alice. He thought she got them out of a newspaper ad…. I won't even get started on that. I hope that the guys don't the wrong idea when me and Rosalie walk into the room too; I would never strip in front of Emmett, or Jasper. Edward, of course, is a whole different story. Jasper is like my brother though, and that's just awkward. I wasn't sure exactly how tonight was going to be pulled off, but this is what Alice wanted. I know Jasper would love this, too.

Alice was close to knocking down the door when she hit her knuckles a couple of times on the wood.

"OH GEE! I WONDER WHO THAT COULD BE!" Emmett said, completely overacting. I know the boys would realize exactly who was waiting for him at the door….well….not exactly _who_, moreover _what;_ a strip show.

Emmett had the greatest expression on his face when he opened the door to see the three of us standing there.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing here?! This is Jasper's bachelor party!" He hissed, not opening the door the whole way.

"I have a special surprise for Jasper." Alice replied calmly, side stepping him into the apartment.

"I thought you got us strippers!" Emmett turned to glare at Rosalie.

"Alice has that taken care of, apparently." She giggled, following Alice's path behind Emmett.

It was my turn to get glared at now.

"Hey, I'm just here to see my boyfriend." I held my hands up, trying to show that I was innocent.

He let me in, begrudgingly. I swear I heard him grumble something along the lines of "This isn't fair….I wanted my strippers." I chose to ignore him, and went to find Edward.

When I took in the room around me, I saw that it didn't really look like a bachelor party. Edward and Jasper were sitting on the couch in front of the television, deeply involved in some sort of video game. There were a few beers sitting on the table, along with music blaring out of a set of speakers in the corner. It definitely didn't look like a type of bachelor party that Emmett would throw, but I'm sure it was up to Jasper's standards. They looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Alice walked in front of Jasper as I was moving over to the couch to greet Edward; the game was soon forgotten at this point.

"Bella! I'm glad you're here!" He said, pulling me onto his lap and giving me a short kiss.

"Hey sweetie." I smiled, snuggling into his chest.

"Alice!" Jasper exclaimed, going to hug her. She didn't return the gesture. In fact, she did the exact opposite. She stuck her hand out on his chest, and pushed him back down on the couch.

"You can look at me, but I charge extra for touching." She winked, starting to untie her jacket.

"Ah! I can't watch my sister strip!" Edward exclaimed from behind me, all but throwing me off his lap. I ended up on the floor anyhow, due to my amazing balance.

"Thanks Edward." I glared, getting up off of the floor.

"I'm sorry love, how about we get out of here?" He asked, clearly in a panic.

I agreed, and we got out of the apartment as quickly as possible. We practically ran to his car. He opened my door, as always, before getting in on his side.

"Let's go somewhere." He suggested, starting the car.

"Somewhere would be nice." I said, causing him to laugh.

"I know a perfect place to go." He pulled onto the road, while taking my hand.

The car ride wasn't to wherever we were going wasn't that long. Before too long, we were parked, and he was opening my door for me.

"Come with me." He said, smiling brilliantly in the dark. He took my hand and led me through the grass to the most gorgeous lake I've ever seen. It looked serene in the dark, the moonlight dancing across the top of the water. It was just warm enough out that I could dip my feet into the water without getting hyperthermia. Edward joined me, draping his arm across my shoulders as he put his feet in the water.

"This is really lovely; second best to our meadow." I told him.

"No, it is only second best to your eyes." He lifted my chin up, his emerald green eyes luring me in. I couldn't control myself as my lips gravitated towards his, into one of the sweetest kisses I've ever shared with another human being before. I smiled when he pulled away, getting lost again in eyes.

"I'll never get enough of that."

"Well that's good then, because I have an endless supply of kisses." I told him, smiling broadly.

"You know I love you, right? I don't mean the 'I love you because I'm your boyfriend and it's only right that I should love you' or the 'I love you because I need you' kind of love. I need you because I love you with everything that I am." He said, caressing my cheek.

"You know you make it hard to breathe when you say those kinds of things to me." I said, trying to calm my heart down.

"I'm just trying to make sure you know how much I care for you. I'm in this for as long as you want me, and more than likely, even if you don't want me."

"There will never, ever be a time where I won't want you. I'll always want you." I said, curling into his chest as he put his arms around me.

We sat in peaceful silence for a while; content with just being with each other. After a while, though, I felt like I wanted to say something, since we were practically defining ourselves in this moment.

"Edward?"

"Yes, love?"

"Thank you." I told him simply.

"For what?" He chuckled, turning his head down to look at me.

"Being here, with me. I don't know how I got lucky enough to be with you, but it's something I'll never take for granted. All of the times you've been there for me, and all the memories we've had; nothing I've ever experienced compares to being with you. I love you, with all of my heart." I replied, almost crying.

"I didn't bring you here to make you cry!" He squeezed me tight against his chest as he noticed my eyes starting to water.

"I'm crying because I'm so happy you idiot." I smiled, smacking his chest playfully.

"That's all I want, for you to be happy."

"I'll always be happy when I'm with you." I kissed him lightly.

As I recalled our conversation, I thought over everything we've been through. The jealous, the fights, the making up, and all of the little moments that brought us to where we are today. I never would have thought that I could care for someone as much as I cared for him. Here I am, though, more in love than anyone could ever imagine. This was home to me, wherever Edward was.

And for some reason, with my head on his chest, and his heartbeat pounding in my ear, I had a feeling that for once in my life, I was going to be okay.

Because I was in love with my best friend, Edward Cullen.

**An: I wish I could cry; I can't believe the story is actually over!!!!**

**Please! THIS IS MAJORLY IMPORTANT!!!!**

_**I need to know; do you want a sequel, or do you want an epilogue?**_

**LEAVE REVIEWS! I need them the most!**

**Thank you to everyone that has reviewed my previous chapters, and who have been here for me throughout the journey of this story. I couldn't have completed it without you. I love you all!!!!**

**Love, **

**Jess**


	22. AUTHOR'S NOTE!

**HEY GUYS!! miss me?**

**Well...i got your reviews, and it's decided....**

**THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!**

**(: the only problem is that I'm writing another story at the moment, and i'd like to give it a shot before jumping right back to the old story.... so with that i'd like to ask you**

**Can you please check out my other story, To Love Your Teacher? I know how amazing you guys are at reviewing... ;) I know, i shouldn't be using this as free publicity... but hahahaha.**

**Thank you all who gave me their opinions, i can't wait to get started on the sequel!**

**I LOVE YOU ALL!**


	23. SEQUEL NEWS!

**heyyyy!!!!! i'm back!**

**I just thought I'd let everyone know what's happening with the sequel. As I type, I am thinking of ideas to put in the story, so you best be excited!!!**

**I'm pretty sure the story is going to happen five years after this one, cause i want it to! :) The plotline would work out best that way.**

**I also wanted to thank you guys, yet again, for the OUTSTANDING reviews and alerts i have gotten with this story. I appriciate it all soooo very much. **

**And also, this is my shameless way of advertisement. But i started a new story, which i think is my best so far, and i would love for you all to check it out. It's called Embracing Love. And once that's finished, I will start the sequel to this story, which i'm hoping for sometime in the middle of october. :)**

**THANKS GUYS!**

**333 Jess**


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